Protecting Your Home from Medicaid

If you or your spouse will need long-term care — either in the near or distant future — it is important to think about asset protection strategies and Medicaid planning with an experienced elder law and estate planning lawyer in Connecticut. One of the assets that you will need to consider carefully is real estate. While there are exemptions in Connecticut for an older adult’s primary residence (as far as countable assets go for Medicaid purposes), even that real estate can be targeted by Medicaid after the older adult’s death. At the Law Office of Brian S. Karpe, we can tell you more about ways of protecting your home from Medicaid while you require long-term care, as well as possible options for protecting it so that your family can inherit it.

Primary Residence is Not a “Countable” Asset Due to Exemptions 

As you may be aware, in order to qualify for Medicaid coverage for long-term care — which is critical for most older adults in Connecticut due to the very high costs — it is necessary to “spend down” any assets that are considered “countable” for Medicaid purposes. Fortunately, while your home is your primary residence, there are Connecticut Medicaid exemptions that mean your home is not likely to be a “countable” asset.

If you or your spouse live in the home, then it is not a countable asset and the exemption applies. If you do not have a spouse who lives in the home and you require long-term care, then a home equity interest limit (currently $1,097,000 in 2025) applies, and you must also have what is known as an “intent to return” to your home following long-term care. An “intent to return” concerns the long-term care patient’s medical situation and their intent to return to their home after receiving long-term care in a nursing home or similar facility.

Accordingly, based on the above, most Connecticut residents will not need to worry about losing their homes to Medicaid spend downs while they are alive and receiving long-term care. However, it is critical to be aware of the Medicaid Asset Recovery Program.

Protecting Your Home for Future Generations 

If you or your spouse will need long-term care paid for by Medicaid, and you also want your adult children or other loved ones to be able to inherit your home, you will need to take steps to prevent it from being subject to estate recovery.

In short, when Medicaid covers long-term care and the patient eventually passes away, Medicaid will seek to be reimbursed for the long-term care payments it provided from the deceased’s estate. Even if a home is exempt under Connecticut’s Medicaid exemption rules, it is not exempt from estate recovery. In order to prevent estate recovery, you may be able to place your home in an irrevocable trust, which you should discuss with your asset protection lawyer.

Contact a Canton Elder Law and Asset Protection Lawyer 

Whether you are seeking information about Medicaid planning and asset protection for yourself or for an elderly parent, it is important to seek legal advice. Ideally, planning ahead for long-term care is something that you do in your 40s or 50s — years before you actually need long-term care in a nursing home or an assisted living facility. Yet even if you need long-term care now and want help learning about options for protecting your real estate and other assets, an experienced Canton elder law and asset protection attorney at the Law Office of Brian S. Karpe can speak with you today. Contact us for more information about the elder law and estate planning services we provide to clients in Connecticut.

Sources:

portal.ct.gov/oha/health-care-plans/other-plans/medicaid?language=en_US

cga.ct.gov/2021/pub/chap_802c.htm