Medicaid Planning is estate planning for folks who have obtained their money the hard way - by earning it. Medicaid Planning permits Nursing Home residents, or potential Nursing Home residents, to ensure that their spouse will not be impoverished by the Nursing Home expenses and that single Nursing Home residents retain some dignity and are not effectively destitute. Medicaid Planning permits Nursing Home residents who have worked, paid their taxes, saved some money and played by the rules, to be able to leave at least some inheritance to their families as a legacy of a lifetime of work. The law does not require a person to leave this earth penniless. We apply the law to the facts of your situation to greatly increase your chances of a better result than without planning.

Federal law has been specifically written to protect the income and some of the assets of a community spouse when his or her mate goes into a Nursing Home. Federal law also permits some of the assets of single Nursing Home residents to be preserved in a variety of circumstances. Kentucky, like some other States, has made changes in the regulations designed to work around and defeat the intent of the Federal law. This is done to solve their budgetary problems at the expense of the people who have already paid a lifetime of State taxes and supported the Medicaid system over the past forty years. We advise our clients of their rights and work within the law to preserve and protect the most assets possible.

As with most types of planning, the earlier, the better.

New regulations, effective in early 2006, drastically limit the ability to make outright transfers of assets. However, there are still numerous tools available that permit a person who has been careful with his or her money to pass some of it to family if specific rules and procedures are meticulously followed.

The 2006 changes in the Medicaid regulations were outright punitive. They reward those who never worked, never paid taxes, and have spent a lifetime on public assistance. They seek to punish working folks. The regulations are full of traps that will not only drain people of all of their assets, but could easily leave them owing more money than they started with if an attempt to transfer assets runs afoul of Medicaid's new and often vague rules.

It is important to note that the interpretation of regulations by the Kentucky Medicaid agency is continually changing. We work with older citizens and their families to achieve their objectives within the letter and spirit of the law.

People ask, "How do you hide the money?" We do not hide anything. Everything that the law requires is disclosed to the Medicaid agency during the application process. We follow and work within the law and the regulations. In Medicaid Planning we gather information about the health of the older citizens, family relationships, and financial assets. Where possible and necessary, we draft documents to help effectuate the plan and the care of the Nursing Home resident.

We then draft a written Medicaid plan. Each plan is different and is specific to the individual situation of each family. The plans are typewritten, single spaced, and generally run four to eight pages. The plan lays out in detail what to do, how to do it, when to do it. In Medicaid Planning, the timing of events is of great importance.

We invite folks to come in with spouses, children, siblings, financial advisors, CPAs, attorneys, religious leaders, friends, and anyone else they would like to have present to hear the plan.

The plan is then read out loud, line by line. Folks stop us and ask questions. Everyone in the room gets a copy of the plan to keep. We do not expect you to remember anything the first time the plan is read. The instructions are detailed and very specific. We explain how we are applying the Medicaid regulations to your specific case.

Medicaid speak often makes things difficult to decipher. For example, an asset is now a resource, a gift is now a transfer for less than fair market value. Because of this, we encourage our clients to call or to come back with questions for anything they did not understand. Unlike many attorneys, we do not charge for telephone calls as our Medicaid Planning is a flat rate service.

Medicaid Planning may involve the use of many tools. Some examples are the conversion of countable assets to exempt assets, and other permitted changes, all within Federal law and strict State guidelines.

Medicaid regulations are variable, complex, and change frequently. Going to the Medicaid office to apply for Medicaid may be an arduous process, a cross between going to the IRS and a root canal. Many [but not all] Medicaid caseworkers are friendly and courteous but the process itself is adversarial and can be quite stressful.

When it is time to go to the Medicaid agency, we will go with our client or for our client. Most folks prefer that we go for them.

The plan often requires multiple visits to the Medicaid office at different times. All visits are included as part of the plan. We meet with the family several times before each Medicaid appointment to gather the necessary documentation needed for each Medicaid appointment.

Since life situations change and Medicaid regulations change, necessary changes are included as part of the work on the plan.

Medicaid Planning, as we do it, is a comprehensive, all encompassing endeavor. It includes: the written plan; all needed documents; all visits to the Medicaid office; all preparation for visits to the Medicaid office; all telephone calls; and all additional meetings or visits to our office. The final step in the Medicaid process is Estate Recovery, a process that occurs after the death of the Medicaid recipient. For our Medicaid Planning clients, any Estate Recovery issues are included in our fee.

We also handle Estate Recovery as a new matter for families with whom we have not worked prior to the death of the Medicaid recipient. This is an arcane field that few lawyers handle. We have successfully resolved many Estate Recovery cases.