Medicaid in North Carolina
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Understanding a Lady Bird Deed in North Carolina: What it Does and Doesn’t Do
While a Lady Bird Deed can sound like the perfect “shortcut,” it is rarely a complete substitute for a comprehensive estate plan. Let’s dive into what a Lady Bird Deed actually is, what it can and cannot do in North Carolina, and why a trust-based plan often offers superior protection for your family. When it…
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Why Adding Your Kids to Your Deed is a Major Mistake
Thinking about adding your kids to your house deed or bank accounts? Learn why this “simple” fix triggers gift taxes, risks your assets, and impacts Medicaid eligibility.
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Understanding the North Carolina Medicaid Estate Recovery Program: What Families Need to Know
Many of our clients include Medicaid planning as part of their estate plan. That’s because they understand the high cost of long-term care and want to prepare for the possibility of needing Medicaid during retirement. One key topic we always cover is the North Carolina Medicaid Estate Recovery Program (MERP). This is a federal program…
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What Is the Medicaid “Spend Down” Requirement?
Anticipating the very real possibility of the need for long-term care is something I urge my clients to consider when creating or updating their estate plans. For many clients, this means including a Medicaid planning component in their estate plan. One reason for this is to avoid the Medicaid spend down provision. To help you…
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What Is the Medicaid “Look-Back” Provision?
You may make it to your retirement years without ever needing to qualify for Medicaid because you were fortunate enough to be covered by employer-sponsored or privately purchased health insurance. The likelihood that you will need to qualify for Medicaid increases substantially, however, when you reach your retirement years because of the high cost of…
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What Is the Medicaid Waiting Period?
Many of our older clients are unfamiliar with the eligibility requirements and participant benefits of the Medicaid program because they enjoyed employer-sponsored or privately purchased long-term care insurance during their working years. Those who have not will either have the family resources to self-pay for long-term care or may suddenly be faced with the need…
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Plan Early to Protect Your IRA in Advance of a Possible Medicaid Application
Given the high cost of nursing home care, I often discuss with clients how to protect and manage their estates in the face of this risk. Some clients may need to count on Medicaid to help cover those expenses at some point. The plain fact is that qualifying for Medicaid could threaten your retirement nest…
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Getting Things Right with Long-Term Care Insurance.
When I discuss estate planning with clients I try and explain the importance of planning for the cost of long-term care within their estate plan. The cost of long-term care could put your estate assets at risk if you failed to plan for the possibility ahead of time. One option for covering the cost of…
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Are You Eligible for Medicaid If You Own a House?
I addressed the differences between Medicare and Medicaid as well as introducing some basics of Medicaid Planning in my blog post earlier this week. Today, I want to talk about the biggest mistake I see for children making when helping a parent begin the process of qualifying for Medicaid: selling the parent’s house as…
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5 Things You Need to Know about Qualifying for Medicaid As a Senior
Like many people, you may have been fortunate enough to make it through your entire working years covered by employer-sponsored or privately funded health insurance. Consequently, you had no need to qualify for Medicaid. As a senior, however, there is a good chance that might change, and if you are not prepared, your retirement nest…
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North Carolina Nursing Homes Could be Kicked Out of the Medicare Program
The Medicaid lawyers of Clarity Legal Group®, serving Raleigh, Durham, Cary, Chapel Hill and surrounding areas, help seniors to make certain they can pay for nursing home care. In most cases, nursing home care has to be paid for by Medicaid because Medicare won’t cover it. Medicare only pays for skilled nursing care and provides coverage only in…
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What is Considered a Countable Asset for Medicaid?
If you are getting older, it is important that you have a plan for paying for your care should you end up suffering from age related disabilities. Do you have the resources to self pay for home care or skilled nursing care should your family be unable to care for you without help? Should you…
Free Estate Planning Worksheet
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