Medicaid and Fishing Boots

Family Land and Medicaid Help

Elder Law Group PLLC helps clients preserve family assets while providing the Medicaid care they need.

Kim felt stuck between her mother’s long-term care needs and the recreational acreage the family had owned for years. Could they get Medicaid benefits to help?

Kim's family cared about the land. Kim had many warm and comforting memories that took place on the family "rec" land as she was growing up. The property included over 100 acres near the Canadian border with an old rustic cabin surrounded by lush woods and meadows. Kim loved to sleep in her loft bed and gather around the family campfires. She and her friend spent hours traipsing among the trees, spying on small woodland creatures and playing in the stream.

There was also a small pond. That pond was maybe 40 feet across and full of slimy plant growth on the bottom. They wore their swimsuits and rubber rain boots over their bare feet, wading into the dark water, feeling their feet shift under them as they stepped and slid on the bottom. Toward the middle, the water came up to their waists.

One day, jumping and splashing in glee, Kim suddenly began to scream and flail around in the water, crying, “Ahh! Help! Get it off! Get it off!”

Kim shrieked and thrashed her way out of the pond, plopped herself down, and poured pond water out of her boot. Flowing with the water was a 3” silver guppy. The poor fish flopped and swam the little boot stream all the way back into the water, while Kim looked at her friend and started to giggle. They laughed all the way back to the cabin and enjoyed tales around the campfire about Kathy’s unconventional fishing method.

Years later, Kim was in a quandary about keeping the land in the family. It was owned by her mother and three of her mother’s cousins in a joint agreement. Her Mom was now frail, lived in a nursing home, and had almost run out of money. With her Mom's nursing home expenses at $7,000 a month, the resources dwindled quickly. It was apparent that soon her Mom would need Medicaid benefits. How could they pay her bills and also keep the land for future generations?

The attorneys at Elder Law Group came to the rescue. Using Medicaid Asset Preservation Strategies®, they qualified Kim’s mother for Medicaid Long-Term Care benefits, assuring the continuation of her care. They were able to transfer Mom’s share of the family property to Kim, successfully preserving it for the next generation. Kim could continue to enjoy her kids and grandkids in the woods and the old cabin, the younger ones splashing in the pond, always hoping their boots would hold only their feet and slightly slimy water.

Are you needing assistance with Medicaid benefits? Do you have family assets that are at risk because of a need for Long-Term Care?

Call now to speak to a Long-Term Care
and Estate Planning Attorney at Elder Law Group 

• Joel Ferris, Jr. - Long-Term Care Insurance Agent
• Gail Goeller - Author of "Coming of Age with Aging Parents"
• Becky Tiller - Tiller Care Strategies, Owner - Geriatric management company
• Lynn St. Louis - Elder Law Group PLLC, Founder & Attorney
• Kathy Bryant - EXL Realty, Senior Real Estate Specialist
• Daria Brown - Fruci & Associates, CPA
• Dustin Allbery - Independent Financial Planner
• Dennis Fletcher - Fletcher Financial Group, President

• When should I start planning for Long-Term Care needs?
• What is a Special Needs Trust and how can it protect assets?
• How can I find ways to pay for Long-Term Care expenses? 

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