Category Archives: Medicaid/Long-Term Care/Asset Protection
Income Trusts and Medicaid: Frequently Asked Questions
Qualifying for Medicaid benefits as a Florida senior can have a huge impact on your ability to afford the long-term care that you, your spouse, or your parent needs in their later years. Many Floridians would simply be unable to pay for in-home or nursing home care without qualifying for Medicaid coverage. A common… Read More »
Choosing a Florida Facility for a Loved One with Alzheimer’s or Dementia
When your parent, spouse, or other loved one is suffering from the symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease or dementia, there comes a time when you may no longer be able to provide the care they need without professional help. When you’re searching for a residential care facility, you want to find one that can not… Read More »
Real Estate Challenges with Medicaid Planning
When an individual applies for Medicaid coverage for skilled nursing home care or home healthcare aides, real estate holdings may pose a barrier to the individual’s financial eligibility. In Florida, a homestead property is an exempt, non-countable asset if the equity in the homestead property is $560,000 or less. Any equity over $560,000 is… Read More »
Challenges for Florida’s Skilled Nursing Facilities
The nursing home industry in Florida recently came under scrutiny in the aftermath of Hurricane Irma after a nursing home in Hollywood was unprepared for the hurricane’s effects. The nursing home lost power during the hurricane and did not make provision for alternate methods of generating electricity for the facility. As a result, the… Read More »
Residency Agreements and Arbitration Clauses
Clients may consult our firm to review the terms of a residency agreement for a skilled nursing facility. In the health care context, the enforceability of pre-dispute agreements to arbitrate instead of litigate any future claims that may arise is a subject of vigorous debate itself. Critics of arbitration clauses in the skilled nursing… Read More »
Medicaid Planning for a Client with Questionable Capacity
When planning, we must consider the person’s ability to understand the strategy and execute new documents. The concept of capacity in Florida is a matter of degree. Here, the law holds that various actions require different amounts of capacity, depending upon the complexity of the action. Florida also recognizes that people’s capacity can fluctuate… Read More »
A Guide to Spousal Refusal
Spousal refusal is a great strategy to gain Medicaid eligibility and assist in paying for the extremely high cost of care for your institutionalized spouse. This is the only strategy that will allow you, as the community spouse, to retain control and access to ALL of your assets while simultaneously getting your spouse approved… Read More »
State of Florida Increases Payments to Long-Term Care Plans as Costs of Care Rise Again
It’s wonderful news that the average American lifespan keeps getting longer. These growing lifespans mean, however, that individuals must spend more time considering how they’ll afford medical care throughout their long lives. According to a recent survey, we as a nation still aren’t dedicating the necessary time to planning for these costs—and the cost… Read More »
Residence Models for Senior Requiring Assistance
When loved ones are no longer capable of independently caring for themselves, they may need to consider the different kinds of assistance available to help them continue living fulfilling lives. Medicaid’s institutional care program can help individuals with the cost of acquiring this additional assistance. If the provision of home health care aides is… Read More »
Medicaid Planning with Long Term Care Insurance
Long term care insurance became a popular commodity in the 1980s as individuals sought to plan for potentially needing long term care services, such as home health care, assisted living facility care or skilled nursing facility care. Given the enormous cost of long term care services, along with Medicare’s lack of coverage for these… Read More »
