As you age, are you thinking you may need assistance in the future? Do you currently have a Florida estate planning attorney? Your attorney can assist you in making sure your goals for yourself, your family, and your legacy can be accomplished should something happen to you. What about beyond estate planning? Long-term care planning? Have you met with a Florida elder law attorney? Are you considering Long-term care planning including Medicaid planning or are you unsure?
If you are planning to have Medicare cover your long-term care costs you will discover that Medicare will not pay for the high cost of long-term care. Therefore, you need to plan forward as soon as possible to ensure you can have the care you may need in the future. Now would be the time to meet with a local Florida elder law attorney.
Be aware that in Florida, the rules surrounding Medicaid eligibility are complex. That is why it is important to choose an elder law attorney near you who is familiar with how the eligibility process works. Your Florida elder law attorney will be able to guide you through the process of preserving your independence for as long as possible as well as planning for your assets in light of a very real potential need to gain Medicaid eligibility.
So, your experienced local Florida elder law attorney will work with you to see if you are eligible to receive Medicaid services. In addition, she can also work with you to protect your assets for your spouse to be able to use for living purposes, and perhaps for your descendants to inherit later on. The process by which this is achieved can be complex. Most states, including Florida, have “look-back” periods. That means that in order to remove certain assets from consideration as income for Medicaid purposes, these assets must have been placed in trust for the benefit of others for a number of months or years prior to the request for Medicaid.
Finding an experienced Florida elder law attorney is vital for Long-term care planning, including Medicaid. When choosing an elder law attorney for Medicaid planning, ask potential elder law attorneys specific questions about how they would help clients through this process including:
- Do they work with many clients trying to qualify for Medicaid?
- How quickly can they respond to questions?
- What if you are not ready now but want to be ready for the future, how can they help?
- What would they suggest you do to move forward?
- Has the attorney worked with clients similarly situated to you?
- How much of their practice focuses on Medicaid planning?
Be sure to ask any additional questions that you have as well. Be thoughtful in the choice of your local Florida elder law attorney. Know that experience in this specific area of law can be invaluable for Medicaid planning and for spotting potential issues during the Medicaid planning process.
Do you need an elder law attorney to help you with Medicaid planning? We know this article raises more questions than it answers and want to help you. We provide expert service to guide you through the medical, financial, and emotional stress of caring for an aging parent or spouse. Our law firm was born out of the personal journey of Attorney H. Frances Reaves as she cared for her own parents. This experience taught her that most seniors in the United States are ignored by society, the government, business and, sadly, their children. Most children of elderly parents don’t know how many benefits and resources are available for their parents or ailing family members. Let us help you. We encourage you to contact us and schedule a meeting.