DALLAS MEDICAID PLANNING AND ELDER LAW ATTORNEYS

Do You Want to Give Your Money to Long Term Care or
Protect Your Assets and Give it to Your Family?

The cost of long-term care is staggering and, as we age, becomes an ever-growing threat to your family’s security. Long-term health care is the single largest out-of-pocket expense for many seniors.

12 million Americans needed long-term care in 2015
From 2002-2012 costs from long-term care grew at TWICE the rate of inflation
32% of those over 85 have moderate to severe memory impairment
Long-term care spending in 2012 was $219.9 billion or 9.3% of all U.S. personal health care spending.
Over two-thirds of current health care dollar goes to treating chronic illness
68% of those age 65 and older have a lifetime probability of becoming disabled in at least activities of daily living or of being cognitively impaired

(All statistics from Selected Long-Term Care Statistics from the Family Caregiver Alliance updated in 2015 published at hpps://www.caregiver.org)

What Is Elder Law and Medicaid?

If you were told that you could keep your assets for your family while maintaining quality assisted care, would you be interested?

Yes! Of course, you would.

That is what Pyke & Associates can do with effective Medicaid planning or what some call “elder law.” The goal of this planning is to protect your assets while assuring that your care is not compromised. Medicare is the comprehensive medical insurance for seniors, but Medicare does NOT pay for long-term residential care, regardless of whether it is called nursing care or assisted living or some other term. Medicaid will pay for this care, but to qualify for Medicaid you must have almost no qualifying assets or income. You see the opportunity, don’t you? What about having NON-QUALIFYING assets or income? That is what Pyke & Associates help you achieve by using a Medicaid Asset Protection Trust.

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THE GOAL

YOUR ASSETS ARE USED FOR YOU

YOU HAVE QUALITY CARE FOR LIFE

YOUR ASSETS ARE PROTECTED FOR YOUR FAMILY

The attorneys at Pyke & Associates have undergone extensive training to achieve your Medicaid planning objectives. Most attorneys, even estate planners, are not trained in this type of planning.

WHO

Who is a candidate for a Medicaid Asset Protection Trust? Almost anyone, but you can be too young or too sick. If you are on the verge of entering a long-term facility, different planning is required. This begins with a Medicaid planning analysis of what assets can be preserved while immediately qualifying for Medicaid. We can do so much more for you and for less expense if we plan earlier with a Medicaid Asset Protection Trust.

WHEN

Usually, this planning occurs when someone retires or is of retirement age. You want to do this planning before there is a near-term plan to enter long-term care. This is because of Medicaid’s 60- month rule that looks back at transactions for five years before an application for Medicaid is filed. This does not mean that if we do a trust for you that you cannot qualify for Medicaid for five years. If your health has recently changed or you’ve received an upsetting diagnosis, do not rule yourself out of effective planning! We can do something for almost everyone and our consultations are free.

WHAT ASSETS CAN BE PROTECTED?

There are virtually no assets that can’t be used to fund a Medicaid Asset Protection Trust, but some assets are ideal.

RESIDENCE / HOMESTEAD

Your residence is an ideal asset for funding into a Medicaid Asset Protection Trust. Although Medicaid treats your homestead as a non-qualifying asset, if you don’t plan right, the State of Texas can recover ALL of the expenses of your care against your homestead. So, to protect your homestead for your heirs, you must plan. Pyke & Associates can save your homestead for your family!

LEGACY ASSETS – FARMS, RANCHES, AND VACATION HOMES

A legacy asset is one intended to be handed down through the generations without being sold. Family farms, ranches, vacation homes and get-away properties are excellent example of legacy assets. Because the intent is to have these in the family for the entire family’s enjoyment, these assets need to be protected from Medicaid qualification rules. If just one co-owner needs to qualify for Medicaid, the family’s legacy asset could be forced to be sold. Pyke & Associates can prevent the assets from ever being sold to pay for medical expenses.

OIL & GAS ROYALTY INTERESTS

Royalty interests are another type of legacy asset. Almost all industry professionals recommend to never sell these assets. Since, often, the current income of these assets can be low but their future potential great, selling almost always nets a disappointing price. Since the assets are being held for generations, they may disqualify multiple people from qualifying for Medicaid while providing insufficient income to pay for those persons’ care. A Medicaid Asset Protection Trust can preserve these assets for future generations and those bonus royalties to come!

BANK AND INVESTMENT ACCOUNTS – STOCK AND BOND AND MUTUAL FUNDS

Cash in the bank and investment accounts can be excellent assets to protect with the help of Pyke & Associates, P.C. If you believe it is likely that these assets don’t need to be used for your normal household expenses, then they are probably a good candidate for funding into a Medicaid Asset Protection Trust.

COLLECTIONS, ANTIQUES, AND JEWELRY

Personal property you own may be very important to you. You definitely don’t want to sell it to pay for your care, but art, antiques, collectables, and jewelry do not create income to pay for your care. Therefore, they are excellent assets to fund into a Medicaid Asset Protection Trust. Our attorneys can protect your valuable and precious assets and collections!

TAX DEFERRED ACCOUNTS – IRAs and 401Ks

Tax deferred accounts are the only assets we routinely advise to not be transferred into a Medicaid trust. Any distribution of these assets is taxable and transferring to a Medicaid Asset Protection Trust can trigger income taxes. However, whenever distributions are made by whoever takes them, taxes will be paid. So, sometimes it is advisable to aggressively de-fund these assets and use the resulting cash to fund a Medicaid Asset Protection Trust.

IS MEDICAID PLANNING OR ELDER LAW PLANNING RISKY?

The truth is, Medicaid is not only a plan for the very poor but for those with more than modest means. Medicaid helps millions of families facing the financial crisis and tremendous expense of long-term care. The planning we recommend is consistent with long-standing regulations of the State of Texas and the U. S. Government. We do not participate in transactions to defraud the government. Medicaid regulations explicitly permit the type of planning we recommend. Our techniques are time tested. We aren’t here to put your family at risk of fighting with the government. We can’t guarantee that Congress won’t change the law or regulations, but there are millions of families throughout the United States that have followed the principles we recommend and Congress is not likely to turn those voters and their families into an ugly mob by jerking away the benefits they have lawfully obtained.