Episode 6: In this episode of Protect Your Nest, Attorney Brandon Lawrence provides an in-depth guide on the legal vehicles necessary for Medicaid nursing home preparation. He explains that in Kentucky, individuals must meet strict financial criteria, including a monthly income limit and a total asset limit. Beyond finances, applicants must be at least 65 years old or have a medical professional certify their need for 24-hour skilled nursing care. Brandon explains the challenge of the five-year look-back period, where Medicaid reviews all financial transactions prior to the application date to identify any attachable assets. To navigate this, he recommends using irrevocable trusts, which effectively remove assets from a person's "countable" resources by transferring ownership to the trust.

Brandon also explains how your situation might call for a Medicaid asset protection trust, an irrevocable life insurance trust (ILIT) and explains how a Miller Trust (or Qualified Income Trust) can hold surplus funds to maintain eligibility. He also warns that without these vehicles, nursing homes can liquidate a family home through probate after a resident passes away to recoup costs. It's important to starting this planning as early as possible. Ultimately, Brandon's goal is to help clients use these tools to preserve their income and pass their legacy to the next generation.

Chapters:

00:40 Welcome and Introduction

04:32 The Medicaid Spend Down

05:49 Irrevocable Trust: Shifting Ownership to Protect Assets

09:21 Other Types of Trust

17:33 Legacy Preservation and Avoiding Estate Recovery

18:58 Conclusion

These are some short, simple ways, and also if you want to get some more in-depth conversation about these or go into more details, specifics on how to utilize these tools and some more tools, you can always contact me at LawyerForTheCity.org. You can email me, call me, and then we can set up an appointment and go in depth and look at what type of vehicle will be best for you. Would it be a revocable trust? Would it be an irrevocable trust? Will it be a Will? What are your plans? What are your goals for protecting your money for qualifying for Medicaid if you need to get into a nursing home? Because also in addition with the nursing homes, they only have a certain amount of Medicaid beds. All the beds are not allocated for Medicaid. You have a certain amount of Medicaid beds, and this is with memory care, with nursing homes and other type of senior facilities that serve the aging population.

The best thing that you can do is try to prepare early, as early as you can and to put yourself in the most advantageous position because obviously it's extremely important. And hopefully we're all going to age into a ripe old age, and some of us are going to need more assistance than others. And we don't really know what situation we're going to be in, if we'll have our spouse, if we won't, if we'll have our family around, if we won't. So we want to take the most precautions and make the best plan that's going to be most beneficial to us. And that's what we all strive to do.

There are tools out there to help you to do that, and you want to take advantage of them and go to a professional that can help you out and assist you with making the best plan most suitable for you. And I thank you for listening. Look forward to coming back and give you some more information on another episode of Protect Your Nest. And in the meantime, it's getting warm out there. The snow is melting, but still watch your step and take care of yourself. Until next time, this is Brandon Lawrence, the Lawyer for the City.

For More Information:

Website: www.LawyerForTheCity.org

Phone: (502) 996-7735

This podcast is meant to provide information and is not legal advice. Brandon's principal office is located at 101 N. 7th Street, Louisville, Kentucky 40202.

Episode 5: Estate planning attorney Brandon Lawrence discusses important considerations related to a nursing home stay. You may be able to qualify for Medicaid benefits. He'll explain how to shield assets before a nursing home stay, so you don't have to sell your home to qualify. However, beware of the five-year look-back period.

Chapters

00:35 Welcome

01:27 Medicaid Statistics and Nursing Home Demographics

05:26 Nursing Home Costs Breakdown

08:45 Planning and Qualification Requirements

12:50 Asset Protection and Quality of Life Goals

18:51 Five-Year Look-Back Period

19:51 Conclusion

So, these are important things that you want to get ahead of. And a professional like myself can help you go in the right direction, save you some money, save you some heartache, and get you qualified for Medicaid, in order to stay in a proper facility with professional people that are going to give you the quality of care that you need and that your money is going to buy along with the assistance of the government.

Because of course, you've worked your whole life and you deserve some dignity when you need a place to stay and someone to help you out when you need it. So hopefully, we'll get into some future ways to help you save and qualify and get prepared for the qualification of Medicaid, if in fact you have to go into a nursing home, and give you that information for preparation in the future. But until then, we wish you a great time. Stay warm and thank you for listening to the Protecting Nest Podcast with the lawyer for the city, Brandon Lawrence. Let's talk it over.

For More Information:

Website: www.LawyerForTheCity.org

Phone: (502) 996-7735

This podcast is meant to provide information and is not legal advice. Brandon's principal office is located at 101 N. 7th Street, Louisville, Kentucky 40202.

Episode 4: Estate planning attorney Brandon Lawrence sits down with insurance expert Denise Bentley to explore how life insurance integrates with comprehensive estate planning. They discuss different types of policies, common misconceptions, and why having proper coverage is essential for protecting your family's financial future when you're gone.

Chapters

00:34 Welcome and Guest Introduction

02:29 Types of Life Insurance Policies

04:40 Affordability and Policy Selection

05:39 Term vs. Whole Life Insurance

12:10 Insurance Underwriting and Contestability

19:30 Reviewing and Updating Beneficiaries

23:23 Insurable Interest Requirements

27:55 Conclusion

Brandon Lawrence:

And that's why we want everybody out here listening to share this episode in particular because this is some great information that Ms. Bentley has provided to us, and it's something that everybody can use. It's going to be beneficial to a lot of people. And I think it's great that you should share this information and keep on. That's why you keep watching and watching for future episodes. Thank you, Ms. Bentley for coming out.

Denise Bentley:

Thank you for the invite. I didn't think I'd make it with this snowy day. I appreciate it, and I appreciate you doing this because people need to hear what you're saying and people need to get with you as an estate planner. And I'll say it again, whether it's me or another agent, sit down and have that conversation. And you made a good point. Bring your family to the table because often there's siblings that have different points of views or how they think things should go, but ultimately make sure that you have some type of safety net in the event of your transitioning.

Brandon Lawrence:

Well, most definitely. And thank you for coming, again. This has been another episode of Protect Your Nest with me, attorney Brandon Lawrence, the Lawyer for the City. Until next time, let's talk it over.

For More Information:

Website: www.LawyerForTheCity.org

Phone: (502) 996-7735

This podcast is meant to provide information and is not legal advice. Brandon's principal office is located at 101 N. 7th Street, Louisville, Kentucky 40202. Jim Ray is a non-attorney spokesperson.