Medicaid & Long-Term Care Planning Attorney Serving New Jersey

While estate planning addresses the transfer of assets after death, Medicaid planning focuses on asset protection and eligibility for long-term care benefits during life. Our firm merges both to create cohesive and protective plans.

Federal law sets the look-back at 60 months for transfers made on or after February 8, 2006 (42 U.S.C. § 1396p(c)(1)(B)), so gifts made more than five years before an application are generally outside the review. Starting five or more years before care is expected leaves the most options open and avoids penalties related to asset transfers during the look-back period. It is not too late if care is already needed; see the crisis planning question below.

Crisis planning is Medicaid planning that starts when long-term care is needed now or soon, often after a hospital stay. It works with the assets and income that are there: identifying which assets are countable, documenting past gifts honestly, setting aside the community spouse’s share when one spouse stays home, and filing a complete application. If transfers inside the five-year look-back cannot be explained, New Jersey calculates a penalty period by dividing the value transferred by the penalty divisor, which the State set at $420.67 a day effective April 1, 2026. The State says the penalty clock begins only on the date the applicant is otherwise eligible, but for the penalty, which is why gifts that were never counted are often discovered after the savings are already spent.

A Medicaid lawyer, sometimes called a Medicaid planning attorney, helps an applicant and family qualify for long-term care Medicaid without avoidable delay. In New Jersey that usually means reviewing five years of bank and brokerage statements for transfers, identifying which assets are countable, working out the community spouse’s share and income allowance, preparing or reviewing the application filed with the county social service agency, and coordinating the clinical screening through the county Area Agency on Aging, which is part of the Aging and Disability Resource Connection. It can also mean setting up a qualified income trust when income exceeds the monthly standard, or appealing a denial. The value is in filing correctly and on time, not in any promised result.

For 2026, the Division of Medical Assistance and Health Services lists a gross income standard of $2,982 a month for a person in a Title XIX approved facility, such as a nursing facility. Income above that amount does not end the conversation. Federal law, 42 U.S.C. § 1396p(d)(4)(B), recognizes a trust composed only of pension, Social Security, and other income of the individual, where the State receives what remains at death up to the Medicaid paid. This is commonly called a qualified income trust or Miller trust, and it has to be set up and funded correctly each month.

There are two tracks, and both must be satisfied. Financially, the application for the Aged, Blind and Disabled programs goes to the county social service agency, which reviews income and liquid assets; the State notes that an in-person interview is not required to apply. Clinically, an adult must meet nursing facility level of care, which the State describes as needing hands-on help with three or more activities of daily living, such as bathing, dressing, toileting, transfers, or eating, or having cognitive deficits that require supervision and cueing with three or more of those activities. Adults start the clinical screening through the county Area Agency on Aging and Aging and Disability Resource Connection.

According to the Division of Medical Assistance and Health Services, the spouse who stays at home keeps the greater of $32,532 or one-half of the couple’s total resources, not to exceed $162,660. That spouse may also receive part of the institutionalized spouse’s income: effective July 1, 2026, the base monthly maintenance allowance is $2,705, and shelter costs above $811.50 a month are added to it. The actual figures depend on the couple’s accounts and income when care begins.

Not automatically, but the home is not ignored. New Jersey’s home equity limit for 2026 is $1,130,000. After death, federal law, 42 U.S.C. § 1396p(b)(1)(B), requires the State to seek recovery from the estate of a person who was 55 or older when they received nursing facility or home and community-based services, subject to limits such as a surviving spouse. The statute also exempts certain transfers of the home, including to a spouse, to a child under 21 or a blind or disabled child, or to a son or daughter who lived in the home for at least two years and provided care that kept the parent at home. Which of these apply depends on the deed and who lives in the house, so we review both.

We assist with asset preservation, income planning, durable powers of attorney, and Medicaid application processing. Our approach ensures that clients retain control and clarity while pursuing eligibility.

Long-term care planning often includes advance directives and health care proxies to ensure decisions reflect your wishes even in cases of incapacity. Our firm prepares these critical documents with the appropriate legal authority.

Yes. We provide legal support in resolving disputes, correcting application errors, and appealing denials through the appropriate administrative channels. Many denials come from missing verifications or unexplained transfers rather than true ineligibility, so the first step is reading the notice closely and acting before its deadline.