Affording help or MC

Lgb35

I have always thought I could never afford to pay out of pocket for in home help or even have memory care as an option. We are not wealthy but we have too much to qualify for Medicaid but not enough to pay out of pocket.

It is extremely important to talk to an elder care attorney early on in the process. Many people suggest a CELA which is preferred if you have one in your area.

it has taken almost 4 years to get a diagnosis since we have frontotemporal dementia semantic variant. DH is currently 62 and working so I have been really worried about finding a diagnosis on the social security compassionate allowance list so he could get the disability payment which is close to the full retirement age payments. After talking to the attorney I learned that payment would be too high for Medicaid eligibility.

We also need to create an irrevocable trust to protect assets and shield from being considered in the Medicaid eligibility process.

Extremely important point is, there is a 5 year look back so we still would not qualify for Medicaid until 5 years after the trust is set up.

I am sharing all of this so those in the early phases know it is possible to get help and what type of planning should happen early on.