• Supporting Our Clients and the Community During the COVID-19 Pandemic.
    • Skip to primary navigation
    • Skip to main content
    • Skip to primary sidebar
    • Skip to footer
    • Home
    • Our Firm
      • About Our Firm
      • Attorney and Staff Profiles
      • Communities We Serve
        • Bergen County
        • Clifton
        • Essex County
        • Hudson County
        • Hunterdon County
        • Middlesex County
          • Edison
          • Woodbridge
        • Morris County
        • Passaic County
        • Somerset County
          • Hillsborough
          • Warren
        • Sussex County
          • Franklin
        • Union County
          • Plainfield
    • Services
      • Asset & Business Planning
      • Estate And Gift Tax Figures
      • Estate Planning Services
      • Incapacity Planning
      • IRA & Retirement Planning
      • Legacy Planning Services
      • Medicaid and Elder Law
      • SECURE Act
      • Special Needs Planning
      • Trust Administration
    • Webinars
    • Resources
      • Elder Law
        • Elder Law & Medicaid Definitions
        • Elder Law reports
        • Elder Law Resources
          • Plainfield Elder Law
      • Estate Planning
        • Estate Planning Checkup
        • Estate Planning Definitions
        • Incapacity Planning Definitions
        • Is Your Estate Plan Outdated?
        • New Jersey Estate Planning Resources
        • Top 10 Estate and Legacy Planning Techniques
      • Free Estate Planning Worksheet
      • Free Seminars
      • Frequently Asked Questions
        • Business Succession Planning
        • Estate Planning
        • Elder Law
        • Estate Planning for Women
        • Frequently Asked Questions for Families Without an Estate Plan
        • Legacy Wealth Planning
        • LGBTQ Estate Planning
        • Medicaid
        • Trust Administration & Probate
        • Wills and Trusts
      • Newsletters
      • Pre Consultation Form
      • Probate and Trust Administration
        • Bereavement Resources
        • How to Know if You Need Extra Help With Your Grieving
        • Loss of a Loved One
        • Probate Resources
          • Hillsborough Township Probate
          • Plainfield Probate
        • The Mourner’s Bill of Rights
        • Things You Need To Do When a Loved One Passes Away With a Trust
        • Things You Need To Do When a Loved One Passes Away With a Will
        • Trust Administration & Probate Definitions
      • Published Books
    • Reviews
      • Our Reviews
      • Review Us
    • Blog
    • Contact Us

    Augulis Law Firm

    New Jersey Estate Planning Information Center

    Connect with us today(908) 222-8803

    • Attend A Seminar
      • Attend A Webinar
    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • Linkdin
    • Youtube
    • Instagram
    Committed to helping New Jersey families preserve and protect their wealth.
    Home » Elder Law » Durable Power of Attorney & Medicaid Eligibility

    Durable Power of Attorney & Medicaid Eligibility

    April 25, 2016Elder Law

    Medicaid planning durable power of attorneyA durable power of attorney is a document that is often used in the elder law field to account for possible latter life incapacity. Though it is not a very pleasant subject of discussion, the hard truth is that many elders do become incapacitated at some point in time.

    There are various different causes of incapacity, but when you look into the facts, you see that Alzheimer’s disease strikes at an incredibly high rate. About 45 percent of people who are 85 years of age and older are suffering from Alzheimer’s disease, and of course Alzheimer’s causes dementia.

    Before you are a senior citizen, the idea of reaching the age of 85 can seem like a reach. In fact, when you look at longevity statistics, you may be surprised. The oldest segment of the population is growing at a rapid rate. The Census Bureau tells us that it is the fastest-growing portion of the population.

    At the present time, the life expectancy for a 67-year-old person is at least 85 depending on the gender of the individual in question.

    Preventing a Guardianship

    What happens if someone becomes unable to handle his or her own affairs as a senior citizen? The answer is that response that you never wanted to hear from your parents when you were a child: it all depends.

    Interested parties could petition the state to appoint a guardian to act on behalf of an incapacitated adult. This is a useful and necessary societal safeguard, but at the same time, it comes with some disadvantages.

    For one, if you were to become incapacitated, the representative that is appointed by the state to represent you may not be the same person that you would have chosen when you were fully competent. Secondly, a guardianship proceeding can be quite costly, because there are court costs and legal expenses.

    There is also the matter of potential disagreements among family members, and this is a third potential difficulty.

    To avoid these drawbacks, you could utilize a durable power of attorney. Just about everyone is aware of the fact that a power of attorney is a document that can be used to give someone else the ability to act on your behalf in a legally binding manner. The thing that may confuse you is the “durable” designation.

    This is actually quite relevant when it comes to incapacity planning. A standard power of attorney that is not durable would no longer be in effect if the person who granted the power was to become incapacitated. When a power of attorney is durable, it does remain in effect, so this is the explanation.

    If you execute a durable power of attorney, someone that you have hand-picked would be empowered to handle your financial affairs if you ever become unable to manage them on your own.

    Medicaid Planning

    Now we can get to the matter of power of attorney and Medicaid planning. Many incapacitated adults ultimately require nursing home care. Clearly, if you are suffering from advanced Alzheimer’s induced dementia, you are not going to be able to do many things on your own.

    Nursing home care is exorbitantly expensive. A few years in a nursing home could cost hundreds of thousands of dollars, and Medicare does not pay for long-term care.

    The Medicaid program will pay for nursing home care if you can qualify, but it is a need-based program. It is only available to people who have very limited financial resources. Senior citizens who are looking ahead toward future Medicaid eligibility often give away assets so that they can stay within the $2000 limit.

    If you give the agent the power to act on your behalf under a durable power of attorney, you can take steps to empower this person to give gifts on your behalf so that you can qualify for Medicaid. However, the inclusion of a gifting provision would be necessary in most jurisdictions.

    Something you should understand when it comes to gift giving, whether you give gifts yourself or whether gifts are given by a representative, is that there is a five-year look-back period. Any gift giving must be completed at least five years before the submission of the application for Medicaid coverage. If this rule is violated, Medicaid eligibility is delayed.

    Set Up a Consultation

    We would be glad to help if you would like to discuss this rather complicated matter with a licensed professional. Our firm offers no obligation consultations, and we can answer all of your questions for you.

    Simply send us a message through our contact page or call us at (908) 222-8803 to set the wheels in motion.

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

    • Author
    • Recent Posts
    Alan Augulis, Estate Planning Attorney
    Mr. Augulis founded his Warren, New Jersey law firm so that he could focus his practice in the areas of advanced estate planning and tax law. Mr. Augulis has invested considerable time and energy helping to educate others on the topic of estate planning and has become a sought-after speaker in the tax and estate planning arena because of his informative and entertaining seminars.
    Latest posts by Alan Augulis, Estate Planning Attorney (see all)
    • Important Subjects to Discuss with Your Estate Planning Attorney - January 23, 2023
    • Planning for the Possibility of Dementia - January 20, 2023
    • How to Prepare for Retirement - January 17, 2023

    About Alan Augulis, Estate Planning Attorney

    Mr. Augulis founded his Warren, New Jersey law firm so that he could focus his practice in the areas of advanced estate planning and tax law. Mr. Augulis has invested considerable time and energy helping to educate others on the topic of estate planning and has become a sought-after speaker in the tax and estate planning arena because of his informative and entertaining seminars.

    Primary Sidebar

    Augulis Law Firm

    Free Estate Planning Worksheet

    There's a lot that goes into setting up a comprehensive estate plan, but with our FREE worksheet, you'll be one step closer to getting yourself and your family on the path to a secure and happy future.
    • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

    Follow Us

    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • Linkdin
    • Youtube
    • Instagram

    Testimonials

    Client Review
    August 4, 2020
        

    Very happy with work. Everything explained clearly and concisely and all my questions were answered completely. Process of putting together plan and review of documents was very organized and easy to understand.

    norm

    Blog Subscription

    • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

    Where we are

    Augulis Law Firm
    5 Mountain Blvd. Suite 5
    Warren Twp, NJ 07059
    Phone: (908) 222-8803
    Fax: (908) 222-8815

    See Larger Map Get Directions

    Office Hours

    Monday9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
    Tuesday9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
    Wednesday9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
    Thursday9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
    Friday9:00 AM - 5:00 PM

    Map

    map

    Footer

    • Advantages of Working With Our Firm
    • Disclaimer
    • Privacy Policy
    • Sitemap
    • Contact Us

    Connect with Us

    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • Linkdin
    • Youtube
    • Instagram
    footer-logo

    Augulis Law Firm
    All Right Reseved.

    Attorney Advertisement

    © 2023 American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys, Inc.