1. My loved one’s nursing home is ________________________.
2. My loved one’s nursing home costs $____________ every month.
3. My loved one will be broke on ___________.
4. My loved one will be able to keep $_________ in income and qualify for Connecticut Title 19 Medicaid.
5. My loved one will be able to keep $_________ in assets and qualify for Connecticut Title 19 Medicaid.
6. My loved one will qualify for Connecticut Medicaid nursing home benefits as of ________.
7. There is a gap of $_________ in nursing home bills that Connecticut Medicaid will not cover.
8. The Department of Social Services will not impose a penalty period against my loved one based on the previous 5 years of records.
9. My loved one’s spouse will be able to keep $_________ in income and assets to maintain his or her standard of living.
10. My family has taken the proper steps to protect as many assets as possible.

Families facing a Connecticut nursing home situation are always in a difficult position. Uncertainty suddenly surrounds a family that was previously in control of their health and financial destiny. The first step to restoring stability and reducing anxiety is understanding how a nursing home stay will impact a spouse at home as well as the family’s life savings.

A Connecticut Medicaid Protection Plan can answer these questions for you and your family as well as give you a plan for the road ahead. Speak with a Connecticut Medicaid Attorney today to begin yours today. Do not stay at the mercy of the nursing home and government agencies. Get answers to your questions today and take back control of your situation.

The Connecticut Medicaid Protection Plan is currently available at the following rates:

Single – $250

Married – $450

To get started, click here.

Related posts:

1. Medicaid Asset Protection Questions
2. Critical Medicaid Mistake #2
3. Reminder – Medicaid Asset Protection Workshop

Effective 1/1/09:

The maximum MMNA a community spouse will be allowed to keep is $2,739. This is up from $2,610 for 2008-2009.

The minimum CSPA or “community spouse protected amount” will be $21,912. This is up slightly from $20,880 in 2008-2009.

The maximum CSPA (or assets the community spouse is allowed to keep without a hearing) will be $109,560. This is up from $104,400 in 2008-2009.

Does this mean you will not be able to protect more than $21,912 or $109,560 in assets from Connecticut nursing home costs? Absolutely not. An experienced Connecticut Medicaid attorney can help you protect everything you are entitled to, which in many cases is more than these basic rules provide.

Related posts:

1. Connecticut Medicaid (Title 19): CSPA
2. Connecticut Medicaid (Title 19): MMNA
3. Medicaid Spousal Refusal Update

1. the personal allowance a Connecticut Medicaid beneficiary can keep;
2. the shelter hardship calculation;
3. the amount of penalizing transfers that create 1 month of ineligibility;
4. and the absolute minimum MMNA.

Everyone applying for or considering applying for Connecticut Medicaid benefits knows or will become very familiar with these terms and how they work to establish or deny eligibility. The current numbers that are in effect until July 1, 2009 are:

1. Personal Allowance: $65;
2. Shelter Hardship: $525;
3. 1 Month of Ineligibility for Every: $9,464;
4. Minimum MMNA: $1,750

Related posts:

1. FY 2007-2008 Medicaid Numbers
2. Key Numbers 7/1/09 – 6/30/10
3. Connecticut Medicaid (Title 19): MMNA

In its most recent survey, the State of Connecticut determined the average monthly cost of a Connecticut nursing home is $9,464.00. This adds up quickly as some people put off implementing life savings protection for months or even years, and others put it off until it is just too late. There is a much less expensive alternative, but before we get to that we have to take a look at what many families are experiencing out there.

Connecticut nursing home costs are among the highest in the nation. Every day I see families stuck writing checks to nursing homes in amounts of $10,000 or more – with no end in sight. These families failed to plan ahead, and they are paying a costly price now. In many cases, these families lose all or a significant portion of their life savings to Connecticut nursing home costs. I wish there was more we could do, but when it is too late it is just too late.

Some families I see try to create their own life savings protection plan. I’ve never seen it work out the way they intend or think it will when people act without an experienced attorney. I see people all the time that have transferred their parent’s money to family members or themselves and for some reason many of these individuals think these transfers will not be a problem when they go through the 5 year look-back period while applying for Connecticut Medicaid nursing home benefits.

Every single financial transaction during the 5 year look-back period is subject to audit and assessment of a penalty if the State deems it a penalizing transfer. You may have the greatest rationale in your own mind , but if you have no evidence and no support in the regulations or case law you really have nothing except a big mess that will cost more to clean up than if you got professional help in the first place.

If what I described above sounds acceptable to you, then you may want to run down to casino and bet everything on black because you are quite the gambler. If you are not the gambling type, and want a strategy you can count on to protect your life savings, keep reading.

The other families I see are looking for solid protection for their hard earned life savings. I am proud to say that I help these families on a regular basis achieve their goals of protecting assets not only for children, but also for their spouse and themselves. It can be done.

You have options to protect your family against a Medicaid required “spend-down”. These options expire, and when they are gone they are gone for good. When you are within five years of needing Connecticut Medicaid nursing home benefits you will not be able to take advantage of these proven techniques. Nobody knows when their 5 year window will start, so most people choose to act sooner rather than later.

One popular option is The Connecticut Medicaid Asset Protection Trust which helps families protect amounts from $50,000 – $1,000,000.00. There are many other techniques that may or may not available depending on your unique situation. Together we can find a solution that works for your unique circumstance.

Doing nothing in July of 2008 just cost you $9,464 in lost asset protection. August is coming to add on another $9,464. See a trend here? The clock is ticking.

Related posts:

1. Estate Planning For Title 19
2. Title 19 Medicaid Protection Workshop
3. The Connecticut Medicaid Asset Protection Trust

In too many cases, families have transferred funds, made purchases, or otherwise acted on the annecdotal advice of people. I guess people start out with the assumption that obtaining Connecticut Medicaid nursing home benefits is really no big deal.

In most cases, applying for Connecticut Medicaid nursing home benefits is a very big deal. At the bare minimum, the process is an audit of the last 3+ years of financial activity for the applicant and the applicant’s spouse. The more assets and transactions a person has within that look-back period, the more complicated the eligibility process is going to be. And contrary to what many people think, nobody is entitled to receive Connecticut Medicaid nursing home benefits. It is the responsibility of the applicant to prove to the Department of Social Services that you qualify for benefits.

The Real Cost

Mistakes and delays during an application for Connecticut Medicaid nursing home benefits are costly. The nursing home bill and other medical expenses continue to pile up every month even when the Connecticut Medicaid application is pending. You may not see the bill until after your application is denied, but it is still there. A Connecticut Medicaid attorney can help get you through the process promptly while protecting your assets.

Related posts:

1. Critical Medicaid Mistake #1
2. Critical Medicaid Mistake #2
3. Connecticut Medicaid in Court – The Spousal Assessment

Today we will look at a recent case highlighting how a seemingly simple issue can go horribly wrong. Before we get into the legal discussion, let’s review the facts of the case.

1.  [FB] has been in a nursing home since September 13, 2004.

2. [The plaintiff, FB's spouse and conservatrix] resides at home in the community.

3. When determining Medicaid eligibility. . . an assessment of spousal assets is completed using the assets that existed as of the date of the beginning of the initial continuous period of institutionalization…

5. On February 28, 2005 an application for Medicaid was submitted to the Department on behalf of [FB].

6. In August 2005, [the plaintiff] hired an attorney to help her complete the Medicaid application process.

7. The attorney assumed the Department had already completed the spousal assessment when [the plaintiff] hired him.

8-12. Between March 28, 2005 and July 24, 2006, the Department sent numerous requests for documentation to [FB] and [when retained, the attorney] … [Until June 2006], the spousal assessment could not be completed because the Department did not have sufficient verification to complete the assessment.

13. On June 27, 2006, the Department had sufficient verification to complete the assessment of spousal assets and sent the results to [FB and the plaintiff]. The Department determined that in order for [FB] to be eligible for Medicaid, the couples assets would need to be reduced to $38,468.

14. On August 24, 2006 the Department approved Medicaid for [FB] effective June 1, 2006. The Department denied Medicaid coverage for the time period February 2005 through May 2006 because [FB's] assets exceeded the allowable limit.

15. [FB] reduced his assets within the allowable limits in June 2006.

18. [FB] exceeded the Medicaid asset limit for the months of February 2005 through May 31, 2006. The hearing officer concluded:

The Department is not at fault for not specifically directing the reduction of assets until June 2006, when the assessment of spousal assets was completed. The Department met its obligation to inform [FB] of what had to be done to establish eligibility, once it received the requested asset verification.

Although [FB] retained counsel six months into the application process, the attorneys and [FBs] lack of knowledge that a spousal assessment had not been completed does not preclude the counting of those assets toward the asset limit. The record reflects that the attorney did not inquire to the Department regarding the results of the spousal assessment. In addition the record reflects that [the spouse and the attorney] were advised beginning in February 2006 that an assessment had not yet been completed due to insufficient evidence.

The Issue

The issue in this case is what is the starting date for receiving Connecticut Medicaid nursing home benefits? The Department of Social Services determined the plaintiff’s spouse can receive benefits starting June 1, 2006 – the date the spousal assessment was completed revealing eligibility for benefits. The plaintiff family argued that they should receive benefits from earlier than June 1, 2006 because either (1) it was the Department of Social Services’ responsibility to complete the spousal assessment since April of 2005 or (2) they were eligible for benefits before June of 2006 even if the spousal assessment was not completed to document eligibility.

The Spousal Assessment

The assessment of spousal assets is a crucial step in the application process. It is critical to determining who gets to keep what when one spouse applies for Connecticut Medicaid nursing home benefits. The regulations provide: “The Department provides an assessment of assets. . . at the time of application for Medicaid whether or not a request is made.” The request for a spousal assessment in this case was filed in April 2005.

Case closed – right? After all, the family requested an assessment of spousal assets in April of 2005 yet the Department of Social Services did not provide the assessment until June of 2006.

The court did not agree with that interpretation. The court relied on procedural regulations created by the Department of Social Services that provides in part: If you did not get information or verification of assets, do not complete an assessment.§1507.05.6. Further §1507.10.4 provides: Complete the evaluation of the assessment within 45 days of the receipt of all the required documentation.

So, even though the assessment of spousal assets to determine eligibility for Connecticut Medicaid nursing home benefits was requested in April of 2005, the family – and later the family’s attorney – failed to provide the Department of Social Services with the information needed to complete the assessment of spousal assets until June of 2006.

When that argument was lost, the plaintiff family attempted to argue that there was no meaningful change in assets from April of 2005 through June of 2006. Specifically, the plaintiff family claimed at the administrative hearing that the verification went on too long and that the assets were the same in early stages of application as they were when the assessment was issued in June 2006.

The court did not find the plaintiff family’s assertion supported in the record. The DSS worker testified that there were additional bank accounts to run down, and there was an issue of when FB entered into continuous care. The plaintiff’s own attorney contributed to the delay when he claimed there was a probate proceeding needed to develop what was what.

The court also found the record supported the conclusion of the hearing officer that the attorney for the plaintiff assumed that the spousal assessment had been completed before he became involved in the case. If the attorney had contacted the worker after being told that the spousal assessment was not completed, he would have been able to gather preliminary figures to assist in paying down assets.

The Conclusion

The family lost their case. The court upheld the Department of Social Services’ decision to provide benefits retroactive to June of 2006 rather than earlier as they had sought to obtain. The family is responsible for paying the nursing home bills for those months of delay as well the costs incurred in appealing the decision.

How To Avoid the Same Fate

Know what you are doing. If you are not up on the latest Connecticut Medicaid cases and regulations, then hire an experienced Connecticut Medicaid attorney to guide you through the process. The family in this case hired an attorney who unfortunately made a costly assumption to the detriment of his client. This family may have enjoyed a different fate if their attorney took five minutes to confirm the assessment of spousal assets was actually completed when he was hired or took steps to complete the assessment shortly after he was hired.

Related posts:

1. Medicaid Spousal Refusal Update
2. Connecticut Medicaid (Title 19): MMNA
3. Critical Connecticut Medicaid Mistake #3

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)

First – any transfer of any asset within five years of applying for Connecticut Title 19 Medicaid benefits creates a penalty period of ineligibility. There are a few very narrow exceptions of transfers that do not create a penalty, however the burden is on you to establish by the evidence that you qualify within one of the exceptions. Now let’s go over some basics.

You will notice all types of transfers are included in the rule. Be it writing a check payable to someone, handing them cash, signing a deed over to someone etc. As it says, any and every transfer is included in the scope of the rule. A simple way to look at it is if the person gives away an interest and access to property, you are at risk for your transaction being labeled a penalizing transfer and resulting in a period of ineligibility for Connecticut Title 19 Medicaid benefits.

One popular transaction that comes up often is taking a joint account and removing the Medicaid applicant’s name from the account. This is a gift. The Medicaid applicant had unrestricted access to the full value of the account on one day and after his or her name was removed from the account they no longer had access to the account. This transaction results in a period of ineligibility.

Another popular question concerns Medicaid penalties and annual exclusion gifts. For tax purposes, each person is allowed to gift a certain value to any person tax free. That is where the annual exclusion gifts end, for tax purposes only. In the context of a Connecticut Title 19 Medicaid application, a gift that you made which is tax-free can very well be (and almost always is) a gift subject to penalties for Medicaid eligibility purposes.

Another example are special occasion gifts such as birthdays and graduations etc. There is no exclusion for these types of transfers no matter how noble or small they may be. Any and every gift is subject to the penalty period of ineligibility rules whether it is $5,000 or $500.

If you are considering a strategy of stonewalling the Department of Social Services by denying information think again. You bear the burden of proving your eligibility. If the law presumes a transfer is a penalty and you do not prove otherwise you will be denied benefits. A Connecticut Medicaid Attorney can help protect as much value as you are entitled to, without the negative consequences of ill-conceived transfers.

Related posts:

1. Doing Nothing Just Cost You $9,464 (and counting)
2. Medicaid Recovery Law More Aggressive Than Ever
3. Trouble With Joint Property

The thinking generally is along the lines of: “but I don’t own anything, my trust owns all my property.” Trust me, this is not a novel idea. People have tried to use that argument for many years. The Department and the Congress have evaluated countless Title 19 Medicaid eligibility cases involving revocable trusts and they have adapted.

The reality of the situation is that with a revocable trust, the trust owner continues to have complete control over their property even if they are no longer the owner of record. Connecticut’s Department of Social Services recognized this long ago and implemented regulations that in practical terms attribute the assets owned by a revocable trust to the owner of the trust. The bottom line is this: if you are using a revocable trust to shelter assets and create eligibility for Title 19 Medicaid benefits in Connecticut, I strongly recommend you obtain a second opinion on that strategy from a qualified Medicaid attorney.

My comments here are limited to revocable trusts. In some cases there are other trust planning options that do provide some degree of Medicaid asset protection; however, those trusts are not revocable.

If you are considering a Connecticut Revocable Trust for reasons other than Medicaid, visit http://CTLivingTrust.com/

Related posts:

1. Myths & Realities of Living Trusts in Connecticut
2. Critical Medicaid Mistake #1
3. Title 19 Brochure