Indianapolis Medicaid lawyers can help you to make a plan to get Medicaid to cover you when you need certain types of expensive care. An experienced attorney can also help parents of children with disabilities to make a Medicaid plan. If you are thinking about making a Medicaid plan, you need to consult with an attorney. Medicaid planning is not something that you should try to handle yourself, as the stakes are very high if you make a mistake. 
Frank & Kraft has provided guidance to many clients who want to ensure their assets are protected or their children are provided for. Making a Medicaid plan is an integral part of keeping your wealth safe and protecting disabled relatives who you wish to provide for. To find out if you need a Medicaid plan and to get your plans underway, you should give our Indianapolis Medicaid lawyers a call as soon as you can.
Why Medicaid Planning is Not a DIY Process
Medicaid planning is the process of making sure that access to Medicaid coverage is available when necessary or is retained when coverage is needed. Medicaid offers coverage for many services that are not otherwise paid for by any insurer. For example, Medicaid will cover long-term care at home or will cover routine custodial care in a nursing home. Custodial care and basic long-term care services are commonly required by people who are disabled or who are getting older.
Unfortunately, Medicare and most private insurance providers only pay for skilled nursing care, such as changing bandages following a surgery, and don’t pay for custodial care at all. This means if you don’t qualify for Medicaid and you need routine custodial care, or if your disabled child who needs Medicaid doesn’t qualify, there will be no sources of payment for vital care and paying out of pocket could be the only option.
If you have too much wealth, you won’t be eligible for these means-tested Medicaid benefits. Most seniors have too much wealth because they’ve worked their whole lives to save money and acquire property. Likewise, if your child is on Medicaid because he is disabled but you provide an inheritance, the inheritance you have left to chance your child’s quality of life could result in your child having too many assets to continue to be eligible for Medicaid.
Making a Medicaid plan allows you to structure ownership of your assets or to structure an inheritance so you aren’t disqualified from getting the Medicaid coverage you need. The problem is, if you do the planning process wrong, you won’t actually protect your wealth. This is why it’s not a Do-it-Yourself (DIY) process. For example, if you hope to keep your assets safe from being spent on nursing home care by making a Medicaid plan, you may think you will be safe if you have transferred your assets to a living trust. Unfortunately, this is likely not the case because if you make a living trust and you retain control over trust assets, the assets will still count as resources for determining Medicaid eligibility. You may think you have your assets protected and won’t find out until too late that they weren’t actually safe at all.
This is just one of many examples of how you could make a mistake in the Medicaid planning process that costs you everything. There are many other errors you could make, including making a transfer of assets that causes temporary disqualification from Medicaid. Working with Indianapolis Medicaid planning lawyers ensures that you won’t cost yourself or your child financial security because you do Medicaid planning the wrong way.
Getting Help from Indianapolis Medicaid Planning Lawyers
Indianapolis Medicaid planning lawyers at Frank & Kraft will assist you in making a Medicaid plan that actually allows you to get covered when you need it or that ensures your disabled child will have his or her quality of life enhanced by an inheritance without losing access to important benefits. We understand how essential it is for you to have the right plans in place to provide for your loved ones or to protect your financial security. We can guide you through the process of identifying your goals for making a Medicaid plan, using the right legal tools to carry your plan out, and ensuring your plan doesn’t have any problems that could cost you.
To find out more about the ways in which our compassionate and knowledgeable legal team can help you with your Medicaid plan, join us for a free seminar. If you’re ready to get your personalized plans underway, give us a call at 317-684-1100 or contact us online today.
Paul A. Kraft, Estate Planning Attorney
Mr. Kraft assists clients primarily in the areas of estate planning and administration, Medicaid planning, federal and state taxation, real estate and corporate law, bringing the added perspective of an accounting background to his work.
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