A fascinating oddity was discovered by a recent study from the Stanford Center on Longevity. The Sightlines Project found that while financial stability for baby boomers aged 65 to 74 had decreased slightly between 2000 and 2014, it had increased marginally for Millennials and Gen Xers.
According to Steve Vernon, a consulting research scholar with the center’s financial security branch, “no change is probably more true.” The increase was only 1%, but it was in contrast to the age group with the largest fall in financial security—25 to 34—which had a decline of 8%.
Elder law lawyers and attorneys help clients receive the essential benefits to cover the cost of any care they or a family member may require. By implementing a Medicaid & Asset Protection Plan, you or a loved one can maintain a high standard of living while facilitating the equitable distribution of money and assets.
Additionally, of all the groups surveyed, seniors had the highest level of financial security. In 2000, those aged 45 to 54 topped the index, with 75% reporting financial security. By 2014, that group’s score fell to 68%, while the score for people aged 65 to 74 rose to 69%. 25 to 34-year-olds are the age group with the lowest financial security, with only over half (56 percent) of them doing so in 2014. By averaging nine financial measures, including cash flow, emergency savings, assets, and insurance coverage, Stanford researchers came up with the financial security index.
Jobs, pensions, and social security help to keep finances stable. Seniors’ financial stability is probably remaining stable for a number of reasons. Vernon asserts that Social Security performs a decent job of keeping you out of extreme poverty. “People over 65 are working longer hours as well.”
Another thing that benefits retirees is having access to conventional pensions. A significant portion of the senior population has a traditional pension, according to Kevin Crain, managing director and executive in charge of retirement services at Bank of America Merrill Lynch. After retirement, there is some predictable income.
The importance of Medicaid planning and asset protection
Medicaid is a long-term care programme with federal funding for those who qualify financially. Although there is no minimum age requirement, you must meet certain income and asset requirements. Though you fall under one of the many exceptions, you can still be qualified even if your income or assets are beyond the eligibility thresholds. If you continue to go above the allotted amounts, Medicaid planning can be started to guarantee your future eligibility should the need call for it.
Planning for Medicaid might be crucial to paying for nursing homes, assisted living facilities, or in-home care. This procedure is frequently difficult or complicated. In order to ensure you receive all the benefits under the Medicare and Medicaid programmes for which you are eligible, we work with you toward achieving Medicaid eligibility by giving you a personalized plan and assisting you through the spend down and application processes.
Importance of an elder law lawyer in Medicaid planning asset protection
Medicaid lawyers are crucial to the process of applying for Medicaid and preparing for Medicaid eligibility.
Elder law lawyers, often known as elder care lawyers, estate and trust lawyers, or Medicaid lawyers, help people plan for their long-term care and eventual demise. They help senior citizens with a wide range of legal responsibilities. Planning for retirement, estate preparation, drafting wills and durable power of attorney, appointing guardianship, establishing trusts, and, occasionally, Medicaid planning and appeals are all included in this. An elder law lawyer can perform the following Steps for medicaid planning and asset protection :
Assistance with Medicaid applications
First and foremost, elder law lawyers and attorneys may help Medicaid applicants with the application process. This can entail finishing the papers, supplying the necessary evidence, and submitting the application. While this process might be time-consuming and challenging, it is not necessary for the individual offering assistance to be an attorney in the majority of states. A professional planner is appropriate for this assignment.
Help with income and asset limits
When an applicant’s income and/or assets exceed Medicaid’s limits, applying for Medicaid becomes more challenging. Every state has financial eligibility standards that cap the amount of money and assets a Medicaid applicant is allowed to have. Even if one’s assets and/or income are beyond the threshold, they may still qualify for Medicaid. However, it is necessary to use planning strategies to reduce one’s countable income and/or assets. An elder law lawyer and attorney being specialist of their field can be quite helpful in this situation.
Implement measures to safeguard your assets and income
For seniors in good health, applying planning strategies for Medicaid eligibility with the goal of skipping the look-back period is desirable. A Medicaid asset protection trust is one such method elder law attorneys might use (MAPT). The penalty period for gifting assets is avoided if the trust is put in place before the look book period begins, and it safeguards the assets of non-Medicaid spouses to guarantee their ability to support themselves. Additionally, MAPTs shield assets, such as a person’s home, from Medicaid’s estate recovery programme, protecting them for heirs in the event that a Medicaid recipient passes away.
The Modern Half a Loaf is a different planning method that isn’t used with the purpose of skipping the look back period. This tactic lowers one’s countable assets while simultaneously preserving a portion of them for family. In essence, Medicaid applicants give half of their “excess” assets beyond Medicaid’s limit to family members before using the remaining “excess” assets to buy an annuity. Countable assets are converted into an income stream by an annuity. The income from the annuity can cover the expense of long-term care throughout the penalty period, even if the applicant will be fined for violating the look-back period.
Income and asset maximization for a healthy spouse
There are spousal impoverishment restrictions in effect for married couples in which just one spouse is requesting Medicaid for nursing homes or a Medicaid waiver for home and community-based care. These are made to ensure that the healthy spouse, also known as a well spouse or community spouse, doesn’t have insufficient resources to support themselves.
Medicaid and elder law lawyers assist married couples in maximizing the monthly maintenance requirements allowance and the community spouse resource allowance, which determines how much of the couple’s assets the non-Medicaid applicant spouse can keep (monthly income that can be transferred from the applicant spouse to the non-applicant spouse).
Conclusion
From the above we can conclude that if you are planning for your medicaid or asset protection, It may be best to retain an elder law lawyer who specializes in Medicaid in the state where one resides depending on one’s marital status, financial assets, and intricacy of other pertinent issues. As mentioned above, non-attorneys are prohibited from performing certain Medicaid planning tasks, and they are also referred to as Medicaid specialists or Medicaid Advisors. A Medicaid elder law lawyer might be an excellent choice for people with relatively basic Medicaid cases.
