Page 34 - Growing Old Without a Plan for Long Term Care is not for Sissies_Neat

16 Growing Old Without a Plan for Long Term Care is not for Sissies Medicaid. Assets transferred out of your name (given to your chil- dren or placed in an irrevocable trust for example ) in the 5 years prior to applying for Medicaid are considered to be available to pay for your care and your Medicaid beneft will be delayed as a result. Transferring assets for less than fair market value within this “look back” creates a period of ineligibility for benefts. Here is the formula used to determine the time frame of ineligibility. Value of transferred assets Divided by the average monthly cost of nursing-home care in your state (determined by the state’s Medicaid offce) Equals the number of months of ineligibility. Here’s an example: $500,000 in assets transferred on 01/01/2014. Medicaid application on 04/01/2018 Since the transfer is within 5 years, a waiting period for Med- icaid eligibility is calculated like this: Assumption: Average monthly cost of nursing home care is $8,000 500,000 ÷8,000 = 62.5 The period of ineligibility would last for 62 1/ 2 months or a little over 5 years. It is extremely important to understand this if you plan on giving away assets in order to qualify for Medicaid. You will need to plan far in advance and enlist the services of a qualifed Elder Law Attorney.