We are Leaders in Long Term Care Planning in Carlisle
At Keystone Elder Law P.C., our Carlisle long term care planning lawyer is a skilled, knowledgeable, and solutions-focused advocate for people and families. The cost of a nursing home or any other form of long term care can be extraordinarily expensive. A proper plan can protect your hard-earned life savings. Middle-class families in Central Pennsylvania rely on us for asset protection against the risk of long term care costs. If you have any questions or concerns about long term care planning, we are here as a legal resource. Contact us today for a fully confidential, no obligation consultation with a top Carlisle long term care planning lawyer.
Nursing Homes and Other Long Term Care is Very Expensive in Pennsylvania
Did you know that a private room in a nursing home in Carlisle or elsewhere in the surrounding region in Pennsylvania costs more than $100,000 per year on average. Other forms of long-term care are extremely expensive as well. That is the big challenge that middle-class families need to be prepared to take on. Even a seemingly short period of long term care can quickly deplete your life savings.
Medicare only provides very limited coverage for nursing homes. Instead, Medicaid is the public program that covers long term care. The difference between the two programs matters because Medicaid is strictly means-tested. Without proper planning, you may be required to “spend down” assets before you can qualify to have nursing home costs or other long term care costs covered by Medicaid in Pennsylvania.
An Overview of Long Term Care Planning Strategies (A Proactive Approach is Key)
Effective long term care planning requires a customized, forward-looking approach. No two families share the same financial or health circumstances, so each plan must be tailored to specific goals. Here is an overview of some of the most notable long term care planning strategies in Carlisle:
- Medicaid Crisis Planning and Spend-Down Strategies: Medicaid eligibility is means-tested, and the program has strict asset and income limits. However, not all assets must be “spent down” to qualify. Our firm assists clients with lawful Medicaid planning strategies. Among other things, that includes converting countable assets into exempt ones, structuring income properly, and using compliant annuities. Pennsylvania’s five-year look-back rule (55 Pa. Code § 178.104) makes long-term care planning time sensitive.
- Establishing an Irrevocable Medicaid Asset Protection Trust (MAPT): An irrevocable trust can shield assets from being counted for Medicaid purposes, provided it is established and funded at least five years before care is needed. Once transferred, assets no longer belong to the grantor but remain available for the benefit of family members or heirs. A properly drafted trust can preserve wealth.
- Long Term Care Insurance and Hybrid Policies: In some cases, long term care insurance provides direct funding for care expenses. However, traditional policies have become increasingly costly. Many families now consider hybrid life insurance and long term care policies, which combine death benefits with care coverage. These policies can offer flexibility and prevent loss of value if care is never needed.
- Protection for the Community Spouse (Spousal Impoverishment Rules): When one spouse requires nursing home care, the other (known as the “community spouse”) is entitled to retain a portion of marital assets and income. Under both federal and Pennsylvania Medicaid rules, the community spouse may keep up to a set amount known as the Community Spouse Resource Allowance (CSRA).
How Our Carlisle Long Term Care Planning Lawyer Can Help
Long term care planning is complicated. It is very much a technical, specialized area of law. At Keystone Elder Law P.C., we provide solutions-focused long term care planning and Medicaid crisis planning services to people and families in Carlisle, Cumberland County, and throughout Central Pennsylvania. Our client testimonials tell the story of our services. When you contact our firm, you will connect with a Carlisle, PA long term care planning lawyer who can:
- Hear your story and answer questions about long term care planning in Pennsylvania;
- Help you gather and organize all supporting financial records; and
- Develop a long term care planning strategy that best protects your assets.
Long Term Care Planning in Carlisle: Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
What is the Medicaid five-year lookback rule?
It is a regulation that prevents people from making transfers into a trust too shortly before actual long-term care needs. Under 55 Pa. Code § 178.104, Medicaid reviews all financial transfers made within five years before an application. Transfers for less than fair market value may trigger a penalty period of ineligibility. A proactive approach is a must.
Can I protect my home in Carlisle and still qualify for Medicaid coverage for long term care?
Yes. Or at least you can in many cases. Pennsylvania allows limited home equity exemptions under 55 Pa. Code § 178.103. That can apply if you or certain relatives still occupy the property. Through careful use of trusts, life estates, or spousal transfers, families in our region often preserve the home while meeting Medicaid’s strict asset limits. Our Carlisle, PA long term care planning lawyer can help.
Can I use a long term care plan to protect my assets?
Yes. In fact, asset protection is a primary goal of proactive long term care planning. Many middle-class families in Carlisle can benefit from strategic long term care planning. A top-rated Carlisle, PA long term care planning attorney can help you develop an asset protection strategy that works.
Contact Our Carlisle, PA Long Term Care Planning Lawyer Today
At Keystone Elder Law P.C., our Carlisle long term care planning attorney is standing by, ready to protect your rights and your interests. If you have any questions about long term care planning, please do not hesitate to call us at 717-697-3223 or contact us online today for a fully confidential, no obligation initial consultation. We provide long term care planning services in Carlisle, Cumberland County, and throughout the region in Pennsylvania.
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REGISTER HERE for LONG-TERM CARE PLANNINGPower of Attorney
A Power of Attorney can be used to give another person the right to sell a car, home, or other property in the place of the maker of the Power of Attorney. A Power of Attorney might be used to allow another person to sign a contract for the maker of the Power of Attorney (the person who makes a power of attorney is called the “principal”). It can be used to give another person the authority to make health care decisions, do financial transactions, or sign legal documents that the principal cannot do for one reason or another. With few exceptions, Powers of Attorney can give others the right to do any legal acts that the makers of the Powers of Attorney could do them themselves. A General Power of Attorney gives the “power of attorney Agent” or simply “Agent” (the legal name of the person who is authorized to act for the principal) very broad powers to do almost every legal act that the principal can do. When Elder Law Attorneys draft general Powers of Attorney, they still list the types of things the Agent can do but these powers are very broad. People often do general Powers of Attorney to plan ahead for the day when they may not be able to take care of things themselves. By doing the General Power of Attorney, they designate someone who can do these things for them.
Normal Powers of Attorney terminate if and when the principal becomes incompetent. Yet many people do Powers of Attorney for the sole purpose of designating someone else to act for them if they cannot act for themselves. It is precisely when persons can no longer do for themselves that a Power of Attorney is most valuable. To remedy this inconsistency, the law created a Durable Power of Attorney that remains effective even if a person becomes incompetent. The only thing that distinguishes a Durable Power of Attorney from a regular Power of Attorney is special wording that states that the power survives the principal’s incapacity. Even a Durable Power of Attorney, however, may be terminated under certain circumstances if court proceedings are filed. Most Powers of Attorney done today are durable.
Yes. At the time the Power of Attorney is signed, the principal must be capable of understanding the document. Although a Power of Attorney is still valid if and when a person becomes incompetent, the principal must understand what he or she is signing at the moment of execution. That means a person can be suffering from dementia or Alzheimer’s Disease or be otherwise incompetent sometimes but as long as they have a lucid moment and are competent at the moment they sign the Power of Attorney, it is valid even if they do not remember signing it at a later date. At the time it is signed, the principal must know what the Power of Attorney does, whom they are giving the Power of Attorney to, and what property may be affected by the Power of Attorney.
Any competent person eighteen years of age and older can serve as an agent. Certain financial institutions can also serve. There is no course of education that agent must complete or any test that Agent must pass. Because a Power of Attorney is such a potentially powerful document, agents should be chosen for reliability and trustworthiness. In the wrong hands, a Power of Attorney can be a license to steal. It can be a big responsibility to serve as an agent.
For Medicaid
Medicare is health insurance and covers medical services such as physician appointments, therapy, blood tests, x rays, medical procedures and hospitalization. Medicare will sometime pay for rehabilitation in a long-term care facility for a period of 20 to 100 days, but not longer. In long-term care, Medicaid covers the cost of ongoing support services for daily functioning, such as room and board in a nursing home.
Medicaid is a federal program that is overseen by the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). In Pennsylvania, Medicaid is called Medical Assistance and is administered by the Department of Human Services (DHS).
In Pennsylvania, Medicaid funds are not available to pay for assisted living or personal care.
For Medicaid to pay for care in a nursing home, an individual recipient must be determined to need a nursing home level of care by a physician and the local Office of Aging. An individual whose income is not greater than three times the poverty level may keep up to $8,000 of total resources, but may otherwise keep only $2,400. The cash value of life insurance counts as a resource, but one car and a residential home does not count as a resource.
What an amazing team you have!!! Taking charge and getting things done, but also being so understanding and compassionate
Empowering Clients with Holistic Planning at
Keystone Elder Law
At Keystone Elder Law, we believe that the physical, social, legal, and financial considerations of our clients all intertwine. We utilize an interdisciplinary approach to evaluate each area, which allows for the creation of a plan that addresses the concerns of the individual as a whole as well as the family. To this end, our model of practice includes a Care Coordinator (usually a nurse or social worker), whose expertise complements our team of attorneys.
When the road of life is smooth, decisions about legal and financial matters are easy to push aside for “a rainy day.” Planning ahead, however, will allow for more options as you view the map of where you’ve been and where you want to go. Don’t let a crisis limit your choices or derail your plans.
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