What is a Medicaid Asset Protection Trust?
Older adults who require costly long-term care in a nursing home should make Medicaid planning part of their estate plan with help from an experienced attorney in Gwinnett County. Whether you are starting to think about the future while you are in your 40s or 50s, or you are seeking help for an elderly parent, Medicaid planning — and a Medicaid asset protection trust — is something important to consider.
A Medicaid asset protection trust, or MAPT, is a type of irrevocable trust that a person sets up not only so that their assets can be protected from Medicaid and they can be eligible for Medicaid nursing home coverage, but also to prevent assets from going to Medicaid after the person’s death. Our Gwinnett County elder law and estate planning attorneys can provide you with detailed information.
What is a Medicaid Asset Protection Trust in Georgia?
What exactly is a Medicaid asset protection trust? A MAPT is a kind of irrevocable trust — meaning that the terms cannot be altered and it cannot be terminated once it is created. It is designed to hold assets that a person does not want to be counted for Medicaid purposes, or that a person does not want to be subject to estate recovery later on.
In order to be eligible for Medicaid coverage for long-term care in Georgia, you must have limited “countable” assets. Certain assets, such as the equity in a home you are residing in, are exempt and are non-countable, but many types of assets are countable. Countable assets are those that are used to determine whether your assets are low or limited enough to qualify for Medicaid. If your countable assets are too high, you must spend down before being Medicaid eligible. You can place countable assets into a Medicaid asset protection trust in order to qualify.
Additionally, most non-countable assets placed into a MAPT can also be protected from Medicaid estate recovery. What is this? After a person dies who has been receiving Medicaid coverage for long-term care, Medicaid will attempt to recover the amount paid from the person’s estate.
Why You Should Consider a Medicaid Asset Protection Trust
The primary reasons to consider a Medicaid asset protection trust include:
- You can effectively “spend down” countable assets in order to be eligible for Medicaid long-term care coverage while still protecting them for certain needs of your own, as well as for beneficiaries; and
- You may be able to prevent non-countable or exempt assets from being recovered by Medicaid after you pass away, allowing those assets to go to a beneficiary or beneficiaries of your choosing.
To determine the types of assets that can be placed into a MAPT, and how those assets will be protected, it is important to seek advice about your particular situation from an elder law and estate planning lawyer in Georgia.
Contact a Norcross Estate Planning Attorney
Do you have questions about Medicaid planning or asset protection in Georgia? Whether you want to learn more for yourself or for an aging parent, a Norcross estate planning lawyer at Bowman Law Firm can assist you. We provide help to clients in Gwinnett County with a wide range of estate planning and elder law matters, and we can speak with you today about the possibility of setting up a Medicaid asset protection trust or making other asset protection plans. Contact us for assistance.
Sources:
medicaid.georgia.gov/how-apply/basic-eligibility
medicaid.georgia.gov/programs/third-party-liability/medicaid-estate-recovery
