Protecting Mom and Dad's Assets from Nursing Home Costs
Planning for the care of your parents while trying to preserve their assets is often called "Asset Protection Planning" or "Medicaid Estate Planning," topics that concern many baby boomers who desire to find quality care for their parents without draining their parents' bank accounts and liquidating their parents' assets.
The most desirable scenario is that years before care is needed, your parents obtained long term care insurance policies that will pay for most, if not all, of your parents' nursing home care. As with all insurance, however, long term care insurance is a solution only if it is purchased years before it is needed.
If your parents do not have long term care insurance, planning options are very limited when the need for nursing home care arises. At that time, nursing home costs will have to be financed by privately paying for them until the assets are spent down, because private health insurance and Medicare do not pay for a long term stay in assisted living or a nursing home. Once the assets meet the minimum financial guidelines and other requirements are satisfied, Medicaid, which is government assistance, will pay for skilled nursing home care but not assisted living care.
Because a person's assets must be nearly depleted before a person will qualify for Medicaid, some parents decide to give their assets to their children to reduce the parents' countable resources. Medicaid, however, enforces strict rules regarding gifts that can have disastrous consequences for Medicaid eligibility if the rules are violated. For this reason, I do not suggest "do-it-yourself" Medicaid estate planning.
The time to start planning for your parents' nursing home care is now. Let us help you and your parents with the planning. |
 
Amanda White Kristina Rainer
Meet our new Associates!
Amanda White received her J.D. from the University of Dayton School of Law in May 2008, and her B.S., magna cum laude, from Vanderbilt University in May 2000. In between, she enjoyed living and working in the Washington, D.C. area, where she spent three years as a program manager for the National School Boards Association. Amanda also interned for International Justice Mission, a human rights agency that secures justice for victims of violent oppression. Amanda and her husband, David, happily returned to their hometown of Dayton in late 2004 after David accepted a new job on the staff of a local church, and Amanda began law school the following fall. One year later, they were blessed to welcome the birth of their daughter. When Amanda has a free moment, she gardens, runs, or reads. She is very excited to join Roberson Law to help meet clients' planning needs.
Kristina Rainer obtained her license to practice law in May 2008, when she was sworn in by the Ohio Supreme Court. She obtained her B.S. from the University of Dayton in 2005 and graduated from the University of Dayton School of Law (UDSL) in January 2008. While attending UDSL, Kristina received awards for her academic achievements in Wills and Trusts, Legal Writing, and Law Practice Management. Throughout her law school career, she showed her dedication to providing legal services to her community, and was acknowledged for her commitment to pro bono work at her graduation ceremony. Since joining Roberson Law in October 2007, Kristina has been showing the same commitment to legal excellence while working alongside Nancy and the rest of her legal staff in serving the needs of her clients. |
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Welcome!
In this issue, I have included articles about relevant topics that my clients want to discuss frequently. I hope that you find these articles informative and useful.
I have also introduced my new Associates, Kristina Rainer and Amanda White. With the growth of my firm, I have seen the need to add attorneys in order to provide timely service to all of my past, current, and future clients. Kristina and Amanda are individuals who both possess the same set of core values upon which I have built my practice and are equipped to assist you.
I hope you enjoy the fall, and I thank you for your continued support of my practice.
Nancy A. Roberson 
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Reasons to Plot Against Probate
A primary reason why many people come to us for estate planning is not because they want to make sure that their favorite charity will get a portion of their estate or because they want to choose guardians for their children, but because they want to shield their loved ones from going though the pains of probate.
Not only can probate be very costly, but it can also tie up an estate for years, which can cause delays for heirs in receiving their inheritance and drive legal fees through the roof.
In addition, probate also raises concerns to families who would prefer to keep their affairs and finances private. When an estate goes through probate, the Will and probate assets become a public record. Anyone can access those records and find out the beneficiaries and value of the assets.
Although there are a variety of probate avoiding strategies, like getting a Trust or a Transfer on Death Deed, the most inexpensive method is owning assets jointly with rights of survivorship. Although joint ownership can be simple to establish, it also has some major drawbacks.
I do not recommend your adding the name of anyone other than your spouse to any of your accounts as joint tenants with rights of survivorship (JTWROS). Although such an arrangement will avoid probate, doing so can expose your assets to the other person's creditors. Also, any joint owner can withdraw funds from a JTWROS account. Finally, after your death, there is a conclusive presumption that the surviving joint tenant is the sole owner of a JTWROS account.
If avoiding probate is important to you, you should probably establish a revocable living trust rather than setting up JTWROS arrangements. I emphasize that avoiding probate will not save your estate any estate taxes or nursing home expenses.
If you would like a more in-depth analysis to determine if you are taking all of the measures to avoid probate, please call our office at 937-643-2000 and schedule a meeting or telephone conference with Nancy or one of her Associates to advise you on the steps you need to take. |
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Need a Speaker for your event?
 Did you know that Nancy is an author and frequent speaker to various civic and religious organizations?
Nancy combines legal advice with her personal story about the tragedy in her life that motivated her to pursue the area of estate planning and probate law. If you would like Nancy to speak at your organization, club, or house of worship, please call the office at 937-643-2000 and ask to speak to Judy Williams. | |
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| Our mission is to provide excellent, compassionate legal services to help people plan for the unexpected and prepare for the inevitable. | |
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