The legacy that you have to leave to your family members when you die depends on numerous different factors. How much you earned and saved during your life will play a major role. So too will your advance planning both for what you leave behind and your final years of life.
Even if you set aside thousands of dollars for your children, they may never receive that inheritance. If you need extensive medical care or you live in a nursing home when you get older, you will probably need Medicaid to cover those costs.
After you die, Medicaid will bring a claim against your estate for repayment of any and all benefits they paid on your behalf.
Medicaid is a needs-based program
Those with enough resources to pay for their own care typically don’t qualify for Medicaid. However, older adults can get Medicaid benefits even if they have thousands of dollars in assets, such as their own homes. A house may not count against someone’s ability to qualify for Medicaid, but that house will be vulnerable after the benefit recipient dies.
Under the Minnesota Medicaid estate recovery program, the state can seek compensation for every cent spent on the care of older adults after they die. When you consider that people need Medicaid for nursing home bills because Medicare won’t cover residential care, you start to understand why it is so important to plan ahead for nursing home costs and to protect your assets.
Engaging in advance planning for potential nursing home support when you get older will protect your quality of life as you age as well as your legacy after you die.
