So somewhat regularly I get requests to help families that have already done their own asset protection plan for Medicaid. Can you see where I am going with this? If they are contacting me to fix something, obviously their do it yourself plan went wrong somewhere and they are now in a lurch between the nursing home and the Department of Social Services (DSS). I hope you are here to educate yourself before going down this same dangerous road. This is my critical Medicaid mistake #1 – do it yourself asset protection.

I have had families contact me after they transferred assets out of a parent’s name and then spent all of the funds within the look back period of the parent’s application for Title 19 Medicaid benefits. From a legal perspective, there is often no rhyme or reason to these situations and they often lead to disaster. So in a case like this a family has transferred and spent everything and gotten themselves into trouble with DSS. Now, that the Medicaid application was denied they recognize they need experienced legal advice. They have already spent everything, how are they going to pay to get a good attorney to help them out of this hole? Speaking for myself, it usually costs more to have me fix an ill-advised asset protection plan than to create a well designed plan.

There are countless variables to evaluate when creating an asset protection plan for Medicaid eligibility. Overlooking even one variable in the analysis can lead to exactly the wrong result. There is a lot of information here and on other sites about general Medicaid issues; however, generic information is only as good as the person applying it to your situation. Someone with asset protection experience can make a positive impact while someone with no experience or training can take you down the wrong path. If you are considering a do it yourself asset protection plan, be prepared to go it alone from start to finish. There are some mistakes that cannot be undone by even the best attorney.

Related posts:

1. Critical Medicaid Mistake #2
2. Critical Connecticut Medicaid Mistake #3
3. Doing Nothing Just Cost You $9,464 (and counting)