Elder Law / Medi-Cal Planning

Elder law is a rapidly growing and increasingly important area of the law. It encompasses a range of practice areas, including estate planning, Medi-Cal planning, long-term care planning, asset protection, and more. The California elder law lawyers at the Asset Protection & Elder Law Center strive to help seniors and the people who love them cope with the changes that come with growing older and protecting hard-earned assets against the high cost of long-term care.

Advance Planning is for people who are healthy now but want to prepare for the possibility that they will need some form of long-term care in the future. We strive to help our clients remain independent for as long as possible and protect their life savings in the event of incapacity. When you consider that nursing home care in California averages between $72,000 and $120,000 per year, and that approximately half of all women and one in four men will spend at least some time in a nursing home during their lives, it is easy to understand why planning in advance is so very important.

Our California long-term care planning attorneys will work closely with you to develop a customized plan to address the very real possibility of incapacity and the need for long-term care. This plan can protect your savings for your benefit, the benefit of your well-spouse, and that of other loved ones. Your plan can also help you qualify for Medi-Cal assistance as quickly as possible.

Medicaid is now the largest payer of nursing home costs in the United States. In California, Medicaid is known as Medi-Cal. We can help you qualify for assistance from Medi-Cal to help pay for long-term care, including nursing home care.

Before elaborating, let us shed some light on some misconstrued notions you may have heard “out on the street.” For instance, you may have heard that only low-income earners can qualify. Not true. This is one of the most misunderstood of all rumors surrounding Medi-Cal. Contrary to popular beliefs, there are Asset Protection laws out there intended for you to safeguard your life savings, but that do not rely on a Case Worker to set up such a structure on your behalf. Whether you have assets ranging from $100,000 to $1 million, we can help you reallocate your estate in the proper legal vehicles to ensure its safety and your eligibility for Medi-Cal assistance.

Another common misconception is that you can simply give assets away to qualify for assistance from Medi-Cal. Untrue. The 2011 Deficit Reduction Act (DRA) mandated what is known as the Five Year Look Back Period. This refers to the length of time you could be penalized when making an uncompensated transfer or gift of assets. Proper reallocation is key to preventing this financially devastating result.

Our California Medicaid Crisis Lawyers define a “Medi-Cal Crisis” as a situation where an individual has already been admitted to a nursing home, or must enter one in the very near future, and been informed that she or he owns too many assets to be eligible for Medicaid assistance. It is considered a crisis because the high cost of nursing home care often depletes a family’s entire life savings within a matter of a year or two.

If you have been told that you have too many assets to qualify for Medi-Cal assistance to pay for nursing home care, you must understand that some of the information provided “on the street” is quite often incorrect. Even social workers and nursing home personnel may be mistaken about your eligibility for Medi-Cal. Our Medi-Cal crisis lawyers understand the complex laws governing Medi-Cal eligibility and can use a range of strategies and tools to help you qualify for assistance.

Contact our office as soon as possible if you or a loved one is faced with a Medi-Cal crisis. Even if you are already in a nursing home, or have been denied assistance in the past, we may still be able to help.