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Are Family Caregivers Entitled to Leftover SSI Payments?

My mother passed away. I was her caregiver and power of attorney for medical and personal decisions. I cared for her at home because I didn't want her in hospice. She was receiving Supplemental Security Income (SSI). Am I entitled...

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  • Categories:
  • Social Security
  • |
  • health care decisions
  • |
  • caregivers
  • |
  • SSI benefits

Does Medicaid Cover the Cost of Cremation?

How can I get help with cremation costs for my daughter who received Medicaid? Does Medicaid cover funeral expenses, what are my options, and what are the best ways to cut expenses for me and my family?...

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  • Categories:
  • Medicaid
  • |
  • funeral expenses
  • |
  • cremation

Can a Dementia Diagnosis Be Reversed?

How can I get my mom’s dementia diagnosis reversed so she will no longer have temporary state public guardians over her property? Mom wants her house back, and we aren’t sure how to go about it or who to ask...

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  • Categories:
  • senior living
  • |
  • guardianship/conservatorship
  • |
  • dementia

Can Nursing Homes Redirect SSI Checks to Their Facility?

My mother’s Supplemental Security Income (SSI) check was not deposited into our checking account and I’m wondering if the nursing home redirected her check to come to them. If the facility redirected her check, can that be reversed?...

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  • Categories:
  • senior living
  • |
  • long-term care
  • |
  • SSI
  • |
  • Social Security

Is a Trust Valid When a Trustee Moves to Another State?

We have an irrevocable trust with our son’s name on our property deed. He moved from Pennsylvania to South Carolina. Do we have to change the deed from Pennsylvania to South Carolina? What do we need to do to ensure the...

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  • Categories:
  • Estate planning
  • |
  • trusts
  • |
  • trustees

Is Marital Property Protected from Medicaid Spend Down?

If my sister’s husband goes into a nursing home and applies for Medicaid, will their house, its total or partial value, be shielded from 'spend down' to cover his nursing home expenses based on marital property laws?...

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  • Categories:
  • Medicaid
  • |
  • Medicaid planning
  • |
  • estate recovery

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Ask us a question and we'll respond if possible. We receive a large number of questions and are unable to answer every one. But if you don't hear back, many questions, particularly those involving Medicaid law, are best answered by a local elder law attorney. To find a qualified elder law attorney near you, click here.

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Medicaid 101
What Medicaid Covers

In addition to nursing home care, Medicaid may cover home care and some care in an assisted living facility. Coverage in your state may depend on waivers of federal rules.

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How to Qualify for Medicaid

To be eligible for Medicaid long-term care, recipients must have limited incomes and no more than $2,000 (in most states). Special rules apply for the home and other assets.

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Medicaid’s Protections for Spouses

Spouses of Medicaid nursing home residents have special protections to keep them from becoming impoverished.

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What Medicaid Covers

In addition to nursing home care, Medicaid may cover home care and some care in an assisted living facility. Coverage in your state may depend on waivers of federal rules.

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How to Qualify for Medicaid

To be eligible for Medicaid long-term care, recipients must have limited incomes and no more than $2,000 (in most states). Special rules apply for the home and other assets.

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Medicaid’s Protections for Spouses

Spouses of Medicaid nursing home residents have special protections to keep them from becoming impoverished.

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Medicaid Planning Strategies

Careful planning for potentially devastating long-term care costs can help protect your estate, whether for your spouse or for your children.

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Estate Recovery: Can Medicaid Take My House After I’m Gone?

If steps aren't taken to protect the Medicaid recipient's house from the state’s attempts to recover benefits paid, the house may need to be sold.

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Help Qualifying and Paying for Medicaid, Or Avoiding Nursing Home Care

There are ways to handle excess income or assets and still qualify for Medicaid long-term care, and programs that deliver care at home rather than in a nursing home.

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Are Adult Children Responsible for Their Parents’ Care?

Most states have laws on the books making adult children responsible if their parents can't afford to take care of themselves.

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Applying for Medicaid

Applying for Medicaid is a highly technical and complex process, and bad advice can actually make it more difficult to qualify for benefits.

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Alternatives to Medicaid

Medicare's coverage of nursing home care is quite limited. For those who can afford it and who can qualify for coverage, long-term care insurance is the best alternative to Medicaid.

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SEE MORE

Most Recent Medicaid Articles

2024 Survey Shows Long-Term Care Costs Continue to Rise
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An Elder Care Lawyer Can Help You Get Medicaid Home Care
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ElderLaw 101
Estate Planning

Distinguish the key concepts in estate planning, including the will, the trust, probate, the power of attorney, and how to avoid estate taxes.

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Grandchildren

Learn about grandparents’ visitation rights and how to avoid tax and public benefit issues when making gifts to grandchildren.

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Guardianship/Conservatorship

Understand when and how a court appoints a guardian or conservator for an adult who becomes incapacitated, and how to avoid guardianship.

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Health Care Decisions

We need to plan for the possibility that we will become unable to make our own medical decisions. This may take the form of a health care proxy, a medical directive, a living will, or a combination of these.

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Estate Planning

Distinguish the key concepts in estate planning, including the will, the trust, probate, the power of attorney, and how to avoid estate taxes.

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Grandchildren

Learn about grandparents’ visitation rights and how to avoid tax and public benefit issues when making gifts to grandchildren.

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Guardianship/Conservatorship

Understand when and how a court appoints a guardian or conservator for an adult who becomes incapacitated, and how to avoid guardianship.

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Health Care Decisions

We need to plan for the possibility that we will become unable to make our own medical decisions. This may take the form of a health care proxy, a medical directive, a living will, or a combination of these.

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Long-Term Care Insurance

Understand the ins and outs of insurance to cover the high cost of nursing home care, including when to buy it, how much to buy, and which spouse should get the coverage.

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Medicare

Learn who qualifies for Medicare, what the program covers, all about Medicare Advantage, and how to supplement Medicare’s coverage.

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Retirement Planning

We explain the five phases of retirement planning, the difference between a 401(k) and an IRA, types of investments, asset diversification, the required minimum distribution rules, and more.

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Senior Living

Find out how to choose a nursing home or assisted living facility, when to fight a discharge, the rights of nursing home residents, all about reverse mortgages, and more.

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Social Security

Get a solid grounding in Social Security, including who is eligible, how to apply, spousal benefits, the taxation of benefits, how work affects payments, and SSDI and SSI.

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Special Needs Planning

Learn how a special needs trust can preserve assets for a person with disabilities without jeopardizing Medicaid and SSI, and how to plan for when caregivers are gone.

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Veterans Benefits

Explore benefits for older veterans, including the VA’s disability pension benefit, aid and attendance, and long-term care coverage for veterans and surviving spouses.

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SEE MORE

Most Recent ElderLaw Articles

Could the Trump Admin Privatize Social Security?
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Lawmakers Propose Well-Being Insurance for Older Adults
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