Unfortunately, many trusts will trap assets and force them to be spent for the medical costs of an ill spouse, when the assets could otherwise have been saved from Medicaid spend down, and could have been used for the well spouse.
Generally once one spouse has qualified for Medicaid, there will be a need for the other spouse to re-do their estate and incapacity planning.
A Medicaid application is generally begun by a call to the local Medicaid Office.
Generally, information about the Medicaid applicant is taken, and a case is opened by the Medicaid staff.
A well spouse can only keep certain assets if their ill spouse needs Medicaid.
The Medicaid application process can seem long and complex. That is because it is.
It can take anywhere from several days to several weeks to gather all the information you need to make a Medicaid application.
When someone purchases real estate, except in very limited circumstances, a 1099-S form has to be issued and filed with the IRS.
This is usually handled by a title company.
If the purchaser does not get title insurance, this is often missed.
Sometimes there is a concern that someone should NOT be notified that a guardianship or a conservatorship is being sought for a person.
For example, there may be a sibling or an adult child with whom the person has fallen out, or from whom the person is estranged.
As part of a good estate plan, most people also do an incapacity plan, so that someone else can manage their affairs if they ever become incompetent
A major component of some incapacity plans is a trust, which many people think of as simply an estate plan.
In addition to the savings in state estate taxes in estates (See Part I) where a couple has assets that total more than a million dollars, including their home, their life insurance, and their retirement assets, if a couple either has no estate plan at all, or has a simple will based estate p
One of the most profitable areas for lawyers involves trying to fix problems that arise after someone has died or become incompetent, when the person has “saved” money by using an inadequate estate or incapacity plan, or has no estate or incapacity plan in place at all.