Medicaid Planning
When it comes to Medicaid Planning, there are tons of loopholes that can help a family preserve a lot of assets and have a loved one still qualify for nursing home Medicaid. On the other hand, this also means there are a lot of opportunities for people to “go rogue” and make mistakes without discussing things with the Medicaid Planning Team. In this two-part video, I review some of the mistakes big enough to get specific clauses put into our engagement agreements to emphasize the importance of coloring within the lines. While this video is meant for the general public, it also can provide some insight to attorneys and other professionals who want to do Medicaid Planning for their clients.
This is actually going to be a review of terms and conditions that we end up putting into the standard engagement agreements when we do Medicaid planning because there seems to be this tendency for people to just go rogue and there are stories behind these different provisions.
My intention is to make this video applicable as far as teaching lessons on how to be a good Medicaid planning client so you get the best results possible. At the same time, this is actually a good video for the other professionals out there who are in Medicaid planning or thinking about it. That’s not just limited to attornies. I’m a Certified Medicaid Planner and I’m an attorney, but there are Certified Medicaid Planners out there that are also social workers, accountants, and financial advisors. It’s the designation that is really showing you know how to do Medicaid planning. It’s the designation granted by the CPM Governing Board.
I’m going to be doing this in the style I do reaction videos, but I don’t really consider it a reaction video because it is my own stories that come in around this.
Asset Transfers
This is a standard part because we don’t really make transfers. The fact is, financial institutions don’t really want to deal with us because we’re not the client. So part of what we have to work with our clients on: “You agree to be responsible for the transferring of title of your assets as directed by the Care Assistance Plan as well as changing the named beneficiary in setting up accounts as directed. One or more of the entities herein will provide specific guidance but the actual establishment, cancellation, and or transfer of assets in accounts is your responsibility.”
Now that’s an important thing. If we were to handle the transfer of assets, no matter how much we end up getting paid extra to do so, it’s typically going to take three to five times as long because now each institution wants a power of attorney, we need it registered, oh fill out this form, and then fill out this form. This becomes a nightmare. And what you are talking about could be $10,000 more or less per month for long-term care. A delay of another three or four months is extremely costly. So part of the deal, when we are working with our clients, is that they are going to have to take some actions. We will be able to provide them with “here is what needs to be done,” as each institution has its own forms but they have to be the ones handling those actual transfers in a timely manner.
In this language, I also put that we’re not responsible for any delays in actually qualifying for Medicaid because you or your power of attorney didn’t get things done in a timely manner.
For more information on more of these terms and conditions please see the video in its entirety on my YouTube Channel Here.