Think about it: the average monthly cost of a nursing home in Wisconsin is $9,228. That means the average annual cost of a nursing home in Wisconsin is $110,736. Michigan is only marginally better. For many, that is the cost of a home. If your loved one is in a long-term care facility, you simply cannot afford to do nothing. If you do nothing, then you will see the life savings of you or a loved one rapidly disappear. There is a significant difference in the assets that people preserve when they have a competent nursing home planning attorney or asset protection attorney on their side.
Our interaction will start when you call our office to schedule an initial consultation. We can conduct the initial consultation in person at one of our many office locations, virtually via Zoom, or via telephone. Prior to the initial consultation, we will give you a complete list of things to bring to this appointment. Because we want to help you minimize long-term care costs as soon as possible, we will schedule this initial consultation at your earliest convenience.
Our initial consultations for Medicaid and long-term care usually last around ninety minutes. The attorney will review the applicable Medicaid rules with you to ensure that you understand them. Additionally, the attorney will review the assets of the Medicaid applicant (and, if applicable, his or her spouse) and then propose a plan to preserve as many assets as possible. To have a productive initial consultation, it is extremely important that you come prepared–which means bringing all relevant documents as instructed by our office. We will quote you a flat fee for an asset protection plan at this time–this flat fee will cover the initial application from start to finish.
Once you have retained our office, we will finalize an asset protection plan. We will walk you through the entire process step-by-step. We will give you specific instructions of what assets to liquidate, what assets to transfer to third-parties, and what to pay the long-term care facility.
After we have developed and put in place an asset protection plan, then we will formally submit a Medicaid application on your behalf–the only thing you have to do is sign off on it. We will handle any and all communication and correspondence with the Medicaid authorities. Our office will be involved during this process until the Medicaid authorities complete their review of the Medicaid application.
Once we have secured approval of the Medicaid application and assisted in the preservation of assets, we will have a final meeting with you to wrap up everything and tie up any loose ends. If you are married, we may strongly recommend that you revise your estate plan accordingly. We will also make certain that you understand how the annual recertifications for Medicaid work.
Many people make the mistake of never seeking competent professional advice when their loved one enters a long-term care facility. In fact, many people only seek the advice of the social worker at the nursing home–and guess what kind of advice you are going to get from the social worker that is employed by the nursing home? Presumably the nursing home would prefer that you pay privately as long as possible, so that social worker is not likely to help you preserve any assets.
Unfortunately, our attorneys often see people after they have needlessly paid for long-term care longer than necessary. Had many such individuals met with us sooner, we could have saved more assets for most of them. It is also important to understand that not every attorney focuses his or her practice in elder law–in fact, very few do. If your lawyer is not providing you with any asset protection options, then it is most likely the case that the attorney is not an elder law attorney.
Please take some time to read some of the information below to further educate yourself on Medicaid and long-term care planning.
Offices in Hurley, Ashland, and Minocqua.