Case Studies

Case Study 1

A gentleman came to see me on January 30, 2008 and wanted to know how he could pay for his wife’s care in the nursing home and protect his assets by February 1, 2008. This individual had an IRA account in his name one in his wife’s name, a house and two life insurance policies. This gentleman had an existing mortgage on his home property.

We were able to liquidate his wife’s IRA account in the hopes the money would reach his bank account within 48 hours just in time for the check to clear that he had issued to the mortgage company on January 31, 2008. Creating this strategy allowed us to significantly reduce his mortgage while spending the assets in his wife’s name that were in a fixed financial instrument. The check to the mortgage company cleared at the same time the funds were available from the IRA and since the check was issued prior to the end of the month, the remaining assets were within the allowable limits to create Medicaid eligibility as of February 1, 2008. This gentleman’s wife remains in the facility receiving excellent care and he retained assets to live on comfortably.

Case Study 2

I met with a retired doctor whose wife had been diagnosed with having bi-polar disease for most of her life. Recently she had a significant decline and he was unable to care for her any longer at home. There were significant assets ($500,000) in numerous financial institutions. We were able to help him consolidate his assets to create ease in managing his affairs while preparing to create Medicaid eligibility within 60 days for his wife’s care in the nursing home. Through certain options available under the Maryland Medicaid Program, we were able to convert a significant portion of the assets into an income stream for him and qualify his wife for Medicaid within two (2) months. The nursing home expenses for his wife were well in excess of $100,000 that he did not have to pay. This allowed him to continue to live in the community comfortably while still retaining assets to maintain his wife’s quality of life.

Case Study 3

I met with a family of three children who were caring for their mother. She was in pretty good health and lived with her son after selling her home. She gave her son money to build an area for her to stay while maintaining her independence. The mother had always been generous with her children and they had been providing care for her and overseeing all of her daily needs to include doctor appointments, groceries, clothes, etc. The mother gave the children money for these services to help off set the time they were missing from work. The mother suddenly fell while being seen in an emergency room and broke her hip. She did not recover well and required a nursing home for her continued care.