Legal Question in Elder Law in Massachusetts

Assuming the elder attorney has reviewed everything carefully so you are not violating certain rules, his advice is probably correct.

Any funds in excess of $2,000 can be attached by medicaid. The attorney is trying to protect your funds.

I agree. Because you are married, you have the right to a certain amount of assets in addition to the $2,000 or less that your husband can maintain in order to become and remain eligible for MassHealth coverage. if you have additional questions, please speak with the attorney again. It is a complicated area of the law and you should understand how it works for your situation.

Best of luck to you both -

The Medicaid law is extremely complex, and becomes more complex by the day.

Your husband's care in a nursing home will be paid for my Medicare for a period. After that you will have to look at your situation carefully and determine whether your husband can return home, whether he cannot return home but can live in an assisted living facility, or he is going to have to spend the indefinite future, and perhaps the rest of his life, in a nursing home.

If you are going to transfer your husband's money to yourself, you might as well transfer all of it. If your husband is going to have to enter a nursing home you should consult an elder law specialist to determine how to position your assets so as to qualify for Medicaid and still retain as much of the family assets for yourself as possible. Among other things, you will want to transfer your family home to yourself alone as soon as possible, have your husband sign a durable power of attorney in your favor, and you will want to make a new will providing that if you die before your husband your assets are held in a "special needs trust" for him, so that they are protected from Medicaid.

There are many factors which enter into what you need to do. It is impossible to cover more than a few things in this space. I will be glad to mention other considerations if you wish to call me.

Russell E. Haddleton, CELA, CAP

Haddleton & Associates

251 South St.

Hyannis, MA 02601

508-771-3132

[email protected]