Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in Maryland

Re: Long term care

That depends. If you (or the person on whose behalf

you are inquiring) are healthy then there are some

ways to protect your assets, but they require some

advanced planning in order to work. You can gift

some money to relatives, or you can create various

forms of trusts to try to keep your money. The problem

is that if you gift your money you create a 3 year

"look back period." What that means is that if you

were to apply for medicaid assistance during taht

period you would be disqualified for the period of

time you could have paid for on your own had you not

transferred that money. If you create a trust you

create a 60 month look back period.

Obviously none of this is simple, and you should

get help if you want to do any of it, but there are

ways to protect at least some of your assets.

Of course, long term care insurance has its advantages,

too. I know that it can be expensive, but if you can

find it at an affordable price you can avoid the need

to worry about look back periods and such by simply

cashing in on the insurance when the time comes.

Naturally, the younger you are when you apply the

cheaper long term care insurance is...

Hope that helps...

Re: Long term care

Sure! Just give ev. away! ex..to your kids!! Just do so at least 5 years before you apply for Medicare/Medicaid!! Otherwise, you could get hit with Medicare/Medicaid fraud and go to jail!! Be Careful!! I do estate planning in Bethesda, MD...