Family Wants To Protect 95 Acres From Rising Nursing Home Costs

Met today with a daughter of a concerned couple. The couple has minimal assets but they live on a 95 acre tract that was given to them by the wife's father. I explained that if one of them go to a nursing home, then that spouse would be eligible for Louisiana Medicaid because the home is exempt and the Louisiana Medicaid Eligibility Manual provides that the home is defined as the residence plus up to 160 acres that the residence sits on. The daughter then inquired about Estate Recovery. She knew that the State of Louisiana would have a lien on the home and that after her parents died, the state could force the sale of the home and property to reimburse Medicaid for its expenses. The daughter happened to mention that her mother listened and followed Dave Ramsey, a radio financial guru. I mentioned that I had heard Ramsey preach that people shouldn't transfer assets for Medicaid eligibility purposes - so why was Mom wanting to do this. Daughter's answer? Mom worked at a nursing home and saw first hand how people's estates were entirely depleted due to nursing home costs.