Medicaid Planning Attorney in Shelby, MI
30+ Years of Experience With Medicaid Planning in West Michigan
Understanding Medicaid Planning in Shelby, MI
Every family's situation looks different when it comes to Medicaid planning, but the goal stays the same: qualify for the coverage a loved one needs without losing everything built up over a lifetime. The Law Office of David E. Waterstradt has helped Shelby families and the rest of West Michigan work through Michigan's Medicaid rules for more than 30 years, adjusting the strategy to fit married couples, single applicants, and everything in between. Knowing what to expect before you apply is what turns a stressful process into a manageable one.
What You Can Keep vs. What Must Be Spent Down
Michigan Medicaid sorts your assets into two groups before eligibility is decided. Exempt assets, the ones you keep no matter what, include your primary home, one vehicle, personal belongings, a prepaid irrevocable funeral contract, and life insurance with a combined face value of $1,500 or less. Non-exempt assets are everything else, and those generally have to be spent down to $9,660 or less for a single applicant before Medicaid coverage kicks in. The planning process is really about deciding which non-exempt assets get converted, protected, or spent in a way that still benefits your family instead of just disappearing into the spend-down requirement.
Understanding Michigan Medicaid Estate Recovery Rules
Your home stays exempt for as long as you're alive, so it doesn't count against you while applying for or receiving Medicaid benefits. That protection has a limit, though. Once you pass away, Michigan is allowed to pursue estate recovery against your probate estate, and that can include a home still moving through probate, even though the same home was untouchable for eligibility purposes during your lifetime. The way around this isn't ignoring the issue; it's planning for it in advance through the right trust or transfer strategy, so the home doesn't become part of what estate recovery can reach in the first place.
What a Single Applicant Can Keep
A single Medicaid applicant faces a tighter limit than a married couple does, capped at $9,660 in cash or countable assets. That doesn't mean everything above that number has to be given away or spent with nothing to show for it. A short-term Medicaid-compliant annuity lets you gift roughly half of your non-exempt assets while using the other half to fund an annuity that provides income during the resulting penalty period. Once that period ends and the annuity has paid out, Medicaid eligibility follows, and the gifted portion remains available to cover ongoing costs or pass on to family.
Trusted Medicaid Planning Guidance for Shelby Families
David Waterstradt brings more than 30 years of experience as a Certified Elder Law Attorney to every Medicaid case he takes on, serving Shelby and communities throughout West Michigan with strategies built around each family's actual assets and circumstances. That experience spans married couples, single applicants, and families navigating a care need that's already underway, so the approach fits the situation rather than forcing the situation to fit a template. No two Medicaid cases look exactly alike, which is why the first step is always understanding your specific assets before recommending a strategy. Schedule a consultation today to learn more about Medicaid planning in Shelby, MI, and the strategies available to help protect your family's assets.