Houston Estate Planning and Elder Law Attorney Blog
Medicaid estate recovery is a scary process, and it can affect families across the country during already difficult times. How can you plan ahead and help guard against Medicaid estate recovery? This blog serves as a starting point, but remember that each person’s circumstances are different, and each person might benefit from a slightly different strategy when thinking through their own opportunities moving forward.
What is Medicaid Estate Recovery?
Medicaid estate recovery is the process through which the government seizes a decedent’s assets after he or she passes away. Typically, the government will initiate this process when the decedent benefited from Medicaid and when that person’s estate has assets that the government can use to recoup the money spent on his or her healthcare.
The government can legally seek reimbursement for any costs that the decedent used for a nursing home or long-term care facility, home services, prescriptions, and/or hospital services. The government is only allowed to seize the decedent’s assets that are part of their probate estate – so if you have an asset that is set up to bypass probate entirely, it will not be subject to the recovery process. Assets that are part of probate and would be subject to recovery can include (but are not limited to) a home, cash, and personal belongings.
How Can Families Avoid Being Subject to Medicaid Estate Recovery?
In certain situations, the government is not allowed to seek reimbursement: for example, if there is a child under 21 in the decedent’s home, if the remaining assets amount to less than $10,000, or if the family successfully files a document with the court indicating it would be an extreme hardship if the government seized their property.
There are also proactive ways to avoid Medicaid estate recovery. One such way is establishing a trust, which can keep assets out of probate and protect them from third-party judgments. By putting assets into a trust, you can also keep your money from the government’s Medicaid estate recovery program, saving your loved ones the tragedy of having to hand over money and assets after your death.
Have You and Your Family Found Your Houston Estate Planning Attorney?
At McCulloch & Miller, we are a team of trusted Houston estate planning attorneys with the time and resources to answer your tough questions. When you don’t know where to turn regarding your estate plan, know that you can count on us. We have decades of experience in the field, and our community knows that we are proud to represent them at every phase of the estate planning and probate process. If you need a dependable Houston estate planning or elder law attorney in your corner, you need McCulloch & Miller.
For a consultation with a Houston estate planning attorney from our team, give us a call today at (713) 333-8900. You can also fill out our online form to tell us about your circumstances and have an attorney reach back out to you as soon as possible. We cover probate, estate planning, elder law, trust administration, special needs planning, and more.