By: Terry Bennett

I’m getting up in age…
I can’t take care of myself anymore…
My children don’t have the ability to take care of me…
I need skilled nursing care…
BUT I have a home, a car, and money in checking accounts, C.D.s, and savings accounts.

What do I do?

Are these thoughts that you or a family member are facing? Did you know that approximately one-third to one-half of all people goes into a nursing home prior to death with the average stay anywhere from three to five years? Depending on the location, nursing homes can cost from $5,000 to $10,000 per month. It won’t take long for a person’s savings to be gone with nothing left behind for their children. What’s the solution?

Medicaid planning is the solution. Medicaid is a need-based federal/state program that covers the cost of healthcare for qualified individuals. Generally speaking, a person cannot have more than $2,000 in assets to qualify, excluding a car and home. For those that qualify for Medicaid, their nursing home stay is taken care of for as long as they live. An experienced estate planning attorney can explain the confusing Medicaid system and potentially draft a plan to preserve your assets for family members while also preserving your Medicaid eligibility.

Medicaid planning is critical and should be done at least five years before you or someone you love is ready to go into a nursing home. Otherwise it is very difficult to save any assets for your children. You have a choice. Who gets your assets – your family or the nursing home?

 

 

 

Terry joined the practice in 1974. His areas of focus include personal injury law, real estate law, probate law, estate planning, business law, corporations, and adoptions. He is admitted to practice before the United States Supreme Court, United States Court of Appeals 6th Circuit, United States District Court Western District of Kentucky, United States Court of Military Appeals, and all Kentucky courts.

A Hardin County native and former Army office in the Judge Advocate General (JAG) Corps, Terry graduated from William and Mary in Virginia with an undergraduate degree in government. He received his Juris Doctorate from Wake Forest Law School in Winston Salem, North Carolina, where he graduated with honors.