After Maria's husband died, Maria's daughter Debby persuaded her to sell the family home and move into Debby's mother-in-law  cottage.  That  way  they  could  stay  close, and  Maria  could  invest  the money  from  the  sale  so that she  could  live comfortably. The house sold for a handsome sum, Maria moved in, and life was good. 

Unfortunately,  soon  after  Maria  had  a  serious  stroke  and  she  ended  up  needing  care she could only receive in a nursing home. Maria and Debby hadn't consulted a lawyer, so they had done no advance planning. The value of Maria's estate far exceeded the limits  to  qualify  for  Medicaid  assistance,  and  Maria  ended  up  spending  everything  she owned on the nursing home.

If only she had consulted experienced elder law counsel at least five years before, she could have saved her entire estate for Debby's inheritance. Not only that. There are ways to structure the sale of the home so that Maria could have saved the money, paid off Debby's mortgage, and still qualified for Medicaid! Even if Maria and Debby had waited until Maria went into the nursing home, a qualified elder law attorney still could have protected around one half of Maria's estate.

The law permits elders to save, to allocate their money, and to qualify for Medicaid. This knowledge is why you pay an elder law attorney. The money Maria could have paid, for that educated guidance, could have been the best investment of all.

Bradley J. Sarkauskas, Attorney-at-Law