Cormac McEnery Estate Litigation Law Blog on Lawyers.com

This article illustrates one of the many reasons it is important to not just have a last will and testament, but also a properly drawn and comprehensive durable power of attorney and health care proxy.

When a nursing home resident has neither long term health care insurance (LTHC) for custodial care, nor a health care proxy along with a durable power of attorney, a nursing home may petition the Court for the appointment of a guardian to make the resident’s financial decisions when the resident can no longer make such decisions for his or her self.  Nursing homes are known to pressure the Court appointed guardian to sell a resident’s home, by petitioning the Court to force the sale of the resident’s home in order to pay the nursing homes costs before qualifying the resident for Medicaid benefits.  This is in spite of the fact that the resident’s home is generally an exempt asset for Medicaid qualification purposes.

The reason nursing homes are pressuring for the sale of residents’ homes, is that if a resident’s home is sold, prior to the resident’s qualification for Medicaid, the nursing home is paid at the nursing home’s private pay rate which is approximately one-third higher than the Medicaid reimbursement rate, until the proceeds from the sale are spent down for Medicaid qualification purposes, which is $2,000 in liquid assets.  If the resident does not sell his or her home, after the death of the resident, the amount due Medicaid in estate recovery and Medicaid reimbursement would be significantly less than the amount paid to the nursing home out of the proceeds from the sale of the real estate prior to qualifying for Medicaid.  Read the remaining article by visiting elder law lawyer in NYC, Cormac McEnery's website or click here.

For more information on elder law in NYC, NYC Medicaid planning, NYC estate planning and to set up a free consultation contact NYC estate planning lawyer, Cormac McEnery at 1-888-368-4329. Call now to set up a free legal consultation.