The Top Mistakes People Make in Planning for Long Term Care

Top 7 Mistakes

1. Thinking it’s too late to plan. It’s almost never too late to take planning steps, even if after a family member has begun to receive long term care.
2. Giving away assets too early. Make sure you can take care of yourself first. Don’t put your security at risk by putting all of your assets into the hands of your children. Gifts can cause tax and Medicaid problems as well. These need to be addressed as part of a complete plan.
3. Ignoring important safe harbors created by Congress. Certain transfers are allowable without jeopardizing Medicaid eligibility. These include transfers to spouses, disabled children, caretaker children, and certain siblings.
4. Failing to take advantage of protections for the spouse of a long-term care recipient at the time of application. These protections include the purchase of an immediate annuity or petitioning for an increased community spouse resource allowance.
5. Applying for Medicaid too late or too early. This can mean the loss of many months of benefits.
6. Confusion about the difference between lifetime liens on property and estate recovery. There are a number of exceptions to lifetime liens on property, but for estate recovery there is only PLANNING IN ADVANCE.
7. Not getting expert help. This is a complicated field that most people deal with only once in their lives. Tens of thousands of dollars, if not more, are at stake.