Cleaning Up Old Medicaid Planning Mistakes

Met with a family today. It was another case of bad Medicaid Planning gone worse. A short while back, Mom transferred her house to her children, and took a demand note for the purchase price. Now, Mom has a little cash left, and she owns this negotiable promissory note. Mom is now in the nursing home blowing through the cash.

Unfortunately, the Louisiana Medicaid Eligibility manual could not be clearer. Mom's negotiable promissory note is a resource. Even after Mom spends down all her cash, she still won't be eligible for Medicaid because she owns this promissory note.

What's the solution? Good question. We think we can salvage about half of what Mom owns, but it will take a lot of work. It would have been much better if Mom and her daughters had engaged in some intelligent Medicaid planning five years ago. But, as often the case in Medicaid planning and in life, hindsight is 20/20.

If you or a loved one wants to know how to protect assets from rising nursing home costs, send me an e-mail at paul@rabalaislaw.com, or give me a call at (225) 329-2450. If you call, make sure you tell Laura that you read about me on the blog.

Paul Rabalais