Best Tax Attorneys in Jacksonville, FL

Typically Medicare will only cover short-term stays in a nursing home. To be eligible for Medicare coverage at all, however, a patient must be qualified as receiving "skilled nursing" care as opposed to "custodial," which covers daily activities such as bathing and eating. In other words, Medicare is not a primary payer for nursing home coverage. Instead, seniors can expect to either pay privately or rely on some form of long-term care insurance or Medicaid. See the federal website Medicare.gov for more information.

No. An individual may apply for Medicaid on his or her own. Alternatively, nursing home staff will also submit applications on behalf of individuals who are admitted once after an individual's assets have been depleted. However, seeking an elder law attorney can help an individual get qualified before their assets have been depleted.

A caregiver agreement, or contract for personal services, is an agreement whereby an individual in need of personal health care services can contract in advance with another person, usually a child or family member, for the rendering of services needed. Services may include transportation, meals, laundry, bill paying, health care monitoring and more. The agreement can be personalized to apply for both at-home and nursing home care. It can be very helpful to enter into a caregiver agreement as early as possible once a person's need for individual care arises, although the agreements can still be useful even after a person has entered into a long-term care facility.

Caregiver agreements can be a useful tool to recognize children or family members for their useful service and also pass on a portion of the in-need person's assets without disqualifying him or her from Medicaid. Determining whether a caregiver agreement is right for you will depend on several factors such as the age of the person needing care and the amount of assets involved. Finally, an attorney should help determine if this is the most proper strategy for your family because there are significant income tax consequences involved and there may be more cost-saving strategies available.

There are many strategies available to help an individual to qualify for Medicaid and protect his or her assets. Strategies include pooled trusts, spousal refusal, caregiver agreements, real estate investment strategies and appropriate spending down of assets in certain circumstances. We invite you to contact our law offices for a free 20-minute phone consultation to find out if Medicaid planning can be beneficial for you.