A Medicaid asset protection trust is an integral part of proactive estate planning. This article will explain how preparing a Medicaid asset protection trust can help safeguard your financial future.
Protecting Your Assets and Home
Including a Medicaid asset protection trust within your estate plan helps keep you eligible for Medicaid benefits while preventing the government from placing a lien on your assets and home. Additionally, Medicaid trusts continue to protect those assets even after the applicant passes away, granting them to the named beneficiaries.
Medicaid Asset Protection Trusts – Additional Benefits
While the primary purpose of a Medicaid Asset Protection Trust is to shelter your assets from being a countable resource by Medicaid while you are alive and protect them from a Medicaid lien after death, they serve numerous other purposes.
Medicaid Asset Protection Trusts are fully customizable. Not only do they avoid probate, but they could help the assets pass quickly and privately without court intervention after death.
They will also enable real property in all 50 states to pass to your beneficiaries without the need to hire an attorney in that state to probate the property. This can save you thousands of dollars in legal fees. In addition, the property also maintains any property tax benefits like Senior STAR or veteran exemptions. And you can sell your house anytime you want!
There are also capital gains tax benefits of passing property through a trust.
With a Medicaid Asset Protection Trust, you can also designate assets to a minor to avoid the need for guardianship court action or pass assets into a Special Needs Trust to protect a disabled beneficiary. You can also choose to leave your assets in further trust for one or more of your children. Assets left in this way will insulate that child from creditors, bankruptcy access, and even from claims of estranged spouses in a divorce.
Take Control of Your Financial Future
At the Falcone Law Firm, our estate planning attorneys can aid in preparing your Medicaid asset protection trust, providing you and your loved ones with peace of mind. Contact us today to schedule your consultation.