What We Do

We assist seniors and disabled individuals plan for the potential or likely need for long-term care, which can be very expensive – we protect our clients’ assets and make sure they are receiving the care they need.

We plan by taking a broad view of our clients’ financial situation and we provide options and scenarios to our clients on whether and how they may qualify for Medicaid.

What is Medicaid in the Elder Law context? Medicaid is needs-based health insurance for elderly or disabled individuals who require a certain level of care. In order to qualify, an individual must need a certain level of healthcare, and they also must have income and resources below certain levels.

Why Plan?

The monthly rate at a nursing home in the Greater New York City area and Northern New Jersey can range from $10,000 to $20,000 (usually closer to $20,000 in New York City, Long Island, and Westchester).

The cost of home care is often less that nursing home care (the cost of paying visiting or live-in aides). Due to the lesser cost, the process and requirements for qualifying for Home Care Medicaid are less burdensome than Nursing Home Medicaid.

Planning Strategies

There are a number of different legal and practical strategies that we implement in order help our clients qualify for Medicaid or plan to qualify in the future.

New York and New Jersey have similar Medicaid rules, but they differ in some ways; for example, New York’s rules are a bit more flexible than New Jersey’s, especially when it comes to planning when a spouse is involved.

As you may have heard, there is a five-year “look-back” period for Institutional (nursing home) Medicaid applicants (there is not the same look-back for Home Care Medicaid). We help our clients navigate this look-back period and plan ahead so that it does not impact their eligibility, depending on their level of planning and how far in advance they are willing to plan.

The following is a non-exhaustive list of some services we provide:

• Transferring assets to Irrevocable Trusts
• Gifting assets to family
• Transferring assets to spouses
• Transferring residence to disabled children
• Transferring residence to Caretaker Child
• Promissory Note and Gift
• Supplemental Needs Trust
• Pooled income Trusts
• Other planning tools like Advance Directives and Wills (see Estate Planning tab)

Finally, we assist clients who are ready to apply for Medicaid (Home Care or Institutional Care) with the application process.