Elder Law & Long-Term Care Planning
Whether you are planning for possible long-term care needs or a family member has recently entered a nursing home or other facility, meeting with an elder law attorney can help you understand your financial options and determine whether, and when, to apply for Medicaid long-term care assistance.
The attorneys at Norton, Abert & Jordan, P.C. can help you navigate New Hampshire's complex Medicaid rules and evaluate your options.
We can also review your prior Medicaid planning to determine whether it still meets your needs.
You should also seek legal advice before making a gift to a family member. In New Hampshire, gift recipients can become personally liable for the cost of your nursing home care under certain circumstances, a risk many families don’t realize until it’s too late.
Medicaid is an extremely complicated area of law, and it’s best understood as a “safety net” available only after most of an applicant’s assets have been spent down or otherwise addressed through proper planning.
Helpful Tips for Elder Law and Long-Term Care Planning
Medicaid is not the same as Medicare.
Medicare doesn’t cover long-term nursing home care beyond a short rehabilitation stay. Medicaid is the program that pays for ongoing long-term care, but it has strict financial eligibility rules that most families don’t encounter until they need them.
There's a five-year "look-back" period for gifts and transfers.
Medicaid reviews financial transactions made in the five years before an application, and gifts or transfers made during the five-year window prior to applying for Medicaid can result in a penalty period of ineligibility, even if the gift was made with good intentions and no thought of future Medicaid needs.
Spending down assets may not be your only option.
Various planning strategies, including exempt transfers and asset conversion techniques, may allow a family to protect assets while still qualifying for benefits. The right approach depends heavily on individual circumstances and timing.
The healthy spouse has protections too.
When one spouse needs nursing home care, New Hampshire’s spousal impoverishment rules allow the healthy spouse (the “community spouse”) to retain a certain amount of income and assets without jeopardizing the other spouse’s Medicaid eligibility.
Medicaid can pursue estate recovery after death.
Even after benefits are approved, New Hampshire may seek reimbursement from the deceased recipient’s estate for long-term care costs paid.
A crisis doesn't mean it's too late to plan.
Even after a sudden hospitalization or nursing home admission, there are often still legal and financial strategies available.
A power of attorney is essential for Medicaid planning.
Many effective planning strategies require someone to act on the applicant’s behalf. Without a valid power of attorney giving the agent authorization to engage in Medicaid planning, those options may be far more limited or unavailable.
Veterans and their spouses may have additional benefits available.
VA Aid and Attendance and other veterans’ benefits can sometimes be used alongside or instead of Medicaid, and the eligibility rules are entirely separate.