Elder Law – Ellis Law Office, LLC

Elder Law& Medicaid Crisis Planning

Areas of Practice

About Elder Law

Later in life, your children have grown and have their own families. You may be retired or getting close and thinking about updating your estate plan. Or maybe you’re raising children while also caring for aging parents. Elder law includes all aspects of estate planning, but also considers asset protection for long-term care

needs and Medicaid planning to offset health care expenses. Preparing for these costs can help preserve your money, assets, and income for potential long-term care services while you are still living, not just asset distribution and tax advantages for family members after your death.

If burdening loved ones to provide care or minimizing their inheritance worries you, your team at Ellis Law Office, LLC in Spring Hill, KS, provide the following services:

· Long-term care planning

· Proactive Medicaid planning

· Crisis Medicaid planning

Elder Law

What is Long-Term Care Planning?

Long-term care planning is a legal strategy to plan for the high cost of different health care services such as in-home and nursing home care. Rising prices for health care may greatly affect your savings, retirement funds, and assets you plan to pass down to your family. You or a loved one may require care for an extended time and want to live independently and safely.

Many people think Medicare will cover any long-term care needs, but coverage is extremely limited. Others may consider long-term care insurance; however, unless you purchase it while you are young and healthy, premiums can be very expensive.

Creating an Asset Protection Strategy in Kansas

A legal strategy can be created based on your current resources and filling the gaps with insurance and public benefits programs that may help cover the costs of care. It can prepare caretakers for guardianship of elderly family members or designate trusted individuals to make financial and medical decisions on their behalf. It also preserves assets for a spouse or other loved ones who may rely on them for support.

What is Kansas Medicaid

Medicaid covers long-term care expenses for individuals who meet certain income and asset levels. It is a federal and state program with rules that vary from state to state. If you reside in Kansas and need Medicaid, you’ll want an elder law attorney who knows the Medicaid rules in Kansas. Your Ellis Law Office team will guide you through the Medicaid qualification, application, and approval processes.

Medicaid planning can be complicated and confusing. Trying to qualify on your own can waste valuable time and money if you don’t understand how the five-year lookback period works. You might also worry that you don’t meet the household income or asset level to qualify for care. Legal strategies make it possible.

What is Proactive Medicaid Planning?

One legal strategy is developing a Medicaid Asset Protection Trust for your health care needs. By transferring assets into the trust before the potential need for long-term care and Medicaid benefits, we reduce countable assets used to determine eligibility. You can protect your estate, minimize tax consequences, and clearly state your intentions for beneficiaries before and after you pass.

What is Medicaid Crisis Planning?

Unexpected accidents and illnesses may prevent you from being proactive about long-term care costs. Should you or a loved one already be in a nursing home facility or require immediate in-home care, we offer Medicaid crisis planning. You may not have as many options for care, but your team at Ellis Law Office will work quickly toward eligibility for Medicaid benefits to help pay for the cost of care and preserve assets for the best possible outcome. This allows you to focus on helping your loved ones during a challenging time.

At Ellis Law Office, LLC, our focus includes estate planning and elder law services in Kansas, including long-term care Medicaid planning and probate & trust administration. We can work remotely via video conference or in certain circumstances, come to the homes of our clients throughout Johnson, Douglas, Wyandotte, Miami, Linn, Franklin and Anderson Counties in Kansas.

Our firm also practices business law to support the legal needs of small businesses and corporations, including business formation, contracts, and business succession planning.

Contact us online or call 913-592-2029. Our office is in southern Johnson County in Spring Hill. Consultations via video conferencing are also available. Consultations are always at no cost, so book yours today!