If you are an avid user of Elder Docx™, WealthCounsel’s state-of-the-art document drafting software, you’ve probably drafted a Medicaid Asset Protection Trust (MAPT). The MAPT is an irrevocable trust that protects assets from being counted for long-term care Medicaid eligibility. But did you know that the MAPT has a cousin, the Medicaid Family Protection Trust (Family Trust)?

The Family Trust, like the MAPT, protects assets from being counted for long-term care Medicaid eligibility. But, the Family Trust has also been designed to achieve optimal asset protection for both the grantor and beneficiaries. How is this asset protection achieved?

President Biden announced that the official Public Health Emergency (PHE) caused by COVID-19 will end on May 11, 2023.   What are the ramifications of this change for seniors?

1. Return of Medicare’s three-day rule

When a client needs Medicaid benefits to pay for their long term care needs, their elder law attorney likely has several strategies in their quiver to help get them qualified. One such strategy is using a sole benefit trust. What is this trust and when can it be used?

Medicaid has strict income and asset rules for those seeking long term care benefits. When a client has excess assets that they need to spend down to qualify for Medicaid, they can put those assets in a sole benefit trust. The benefit of doing so is that transfers to a sole benefit trust are not penalized. However, there are rules about who can be the beneficiary of the sole benefit trust.