Probably one of the biggest causes of the so-called middle class squeeze is the high cost of healthcare, particularly as a person ages and requires more medical assistance.
By way of example, should someone who has worked hard to accrue some modest assets need to enter a care facility at the end of their lives, then they may see their entire legacy eaten up by nursing home bills.
Medicaid planning, when done correctly, uses legal means to allow Tennessee couples to keep some of their assets in the family while still qualifying for important government benefits like Medicaid.
The great thing about being eligible for Medicaid is that the government program will to a great extent foot the bill for care in a nursing home. However, the tradeoff is that a Cleveland, Tennessee, resident must be of limited means and income to be eligible for the Medicaid program.
Medicaid planning is not something that a Tennessee family can just take care of in the days or even weeks prior to putting a loved one in a nursing home. Indeed, in order to plan properly, it can take months and years of forethought and taking the necessary legal steps.
However, the right estate planning can allow a family to preserve its hard-earned assets, or at least pass them along to the next generation without having to worry about losing them to medical bills that won’t get covered via government benefits.
On the flip side, poor planning could make it very difficult for senior citizens and others in Tennessee to avoid that painful choice between getting the medical care one needs and leaving a generous inheritance to loved ones.
Medicaid planning, as well as other types of estate planning designed to protect assets, is an important and complicated task. Having the right legal team in place to assist with this job is a potential key to success.
