As people get older, they sometimes suffer from conditions that impair their ability to care for themselves. Luckily, you can anticipate and plan for this possibility.
The cost of in-home or nursing facility care for yourself, your spouse, or your parent is expensive, even for the very well-off. Almost everyone will require Medicaid or other public benefits to access the care they need. In addition, people who develop a disability or cognitive impairment often have trouble accessing the Medicare and Social Security benefits they are entitled to receive.
Contact a Virginia Beach public benefits protection lawyer at Parks Ziegler, PLLC, to learn about the steps you can take now to prepare for disability or poor health later. Our elder law attorneys will learn about your specific situation and suggest steps to ensure you get access to all the benefits available while preserving your assets and lifestyle to the extent possible.
Some Benefits Are Need-Based and Others Are Not
People who have paid into the Social Security program are entitled to monthly payments. Workers who retire can start collecting their benefits at age 62 and must begin collecting them by age 70. Social Security benefits are a repayment of money you have already paid into the program through payroll deductions. People who suffer a disability also might be entitled to disability payments through the program.
Medicare is a health insurance program for everyone over 65 and some younger, disabled persons. Medicare is a crucial public benefit that provides free and reduced cost medical care for seniors. Medicaid is a need-based healthcare insurance program. However, many people with substantial means can qualify for Medicaid for long-term care needs.
Other public benefit programs, such as Veteran’s benefits and Railroad Workers benefits, are available to people who qualify. An experienced Virginia Beach attorney can review an individual’s case, determine which benefit programs may be applicable to their situation, and help them take advantage of the programs while preserving their assets.
Legal Steps Can Enhance Eligibility for Benefits
Older adults have spent their entire lives building their wealth. Whether their nest egg is substantial or they have only enough to meet basic needs, an older person should not have to impoverish themselves to receive appropriate care.
Benefit programs for older adults recognize that fact. The programs build in opportunities for families to manage their assets in a way that preserves them for a spouse and children while allowing an infirm or disabled person to receive Medicaid for long-term care.
Ideally, an individual or family begins planning long before long-term care is necessary. However, a family can take legal steps to protect assets and enhance a loved one’s eligibility for public benefits, even when the need is urgent. An experienced public benefits protection attorney can assist a Virginia Beach family in either situation.
Comprehensive Estate Planning Can Preserve Your Lifestyle
An estate plan can provide the means for a family to enjoy the wealth they have accumulated over the years while still maintaining eligibility for public benefits if necessary. An estate plan usually has several components.
Medicaid eligibility is based on income and countable assets. Moving wealth into assets that are not countable for Medicaid purposes is one way to enhance eligibility. Property in an irrevocable trust is usually not countable. The grantor of the trust can continue to manage the property, and it is not subject to probate when the grantor dies.
Other estate planning tools that can enhance public benefits eligibility include gifting assets to heirs and spending down income. Strict rules and timing requirements can impact benefits eligibility, so it is wise to employ these strategies with the advice of a savvy Virginia Beach attorney to avoid long-lasting consequences such as negative tax implications and penalties for asset transfers.
Work With a Virginia Beach Attorney to Protect Your Right to Public Benefits
You should not have to lose everything you spent a lifetime building to get the care you need as an older person. The law does not require you to be destitute to receive benefits, but eligibility, if you have means, requires a conscious asset-protection strategy.
Contact a Virginia Beach public benefits protection lawyer at Parks Ziegler, PLLC, for help. We are devoted to ensuring people receive the care they need while preserving as much of their wealth as possible.
