If a Senior Citizen requires nursing home care, the Senior and the Senior’s family may face a huge financial problem. As discussed in our earlier post, paying for nursing home care is exceptionally expensive. Without proper guidance from a lawyer familiar with Elder Law, a family may lose many of its assets and money paying for nursing homes.
However, it’s possible that a family does not have to personally pay these expenses. There are government programs to pay for nursing home costs. One way is through an approved Medicaid Application. If a Medicaid Application is accepted, then the government may pay for nursing home costs and save a family money.
Most people do not understand the difficulty of a Medicaid Application. It is best to fill out an application only with an in-depth understanding of Elder Law and Medicaid law. Failure to answer questions correctly may result in a Medicaid application rejection. Any appeals to medicaid may be expensive, time consuming, and exceptionally difficult.
A North Carolina Medicaid Lawyer considers many things when filling out a Medicaid Application. Among others, these Elder Law considerations include properly categorizing a Senior’s “countable assets.” Failure to correctly account for these assets may result in a Medicaid application rejection. Some potential “countable assets” may include an Applicant’s and an Applicant’s spouse’s:
- Personal residences
- other real estate
- timeshares
- automobiles
- mobile homes
- boats, trailers, campers
- farm and garden equipment
- Cash
- Bank Accounts and CDs
- Cash value of Life Insurance policies
- stocks, bonds, mutual funds
- business interests
- IRA Accounts
- Annuities
This list is not exhaustive and many exceptions apply. A North Carolina Medicaid Lawyer may point out the exceptions and may properly categorize the assets. By doing this correctly, a person is more likely to follow elder law and have a successful medicaid application. This is incredibly importance since a successful medicaid application may help pay for nursing home costs.
For more topics related to Medicaid Law, read the future blogs by our Medicaid Lawyers in North Carolina. We will provide additional information, including medicaid application process, typical medicaid application questions, and medicaid eligibility.
If you require a consultation regarding this topic, please call our office to speak with an elder law North Carolina Medicaid Lawyer. Or, if you need other assistance, we can help you with topics including estates, business law, or trademark law.
