Incapacity

There are several documents used to plan for incapacity, including certain trusts, a durable power of attorney, a healthcare surrogate or a living will. You can read more about some of the documents that help in this situation, under our estate planning section.

Irrevocable Life Insurance Trust (ILIT)

Medicaid

A means-tested medical and health welfare program supported by federal, state and local funds, and administered by each state to provide health care for eligible poverty level individuals.

Florida Medicaid law requires a Qualified Income Trust (QIT) for anyone whose income is around $1,650. Because of the difficulty presented in the QIT process, we administer it for the first year as part of our services.

Medicaid is difficult to get because of the high demand the government faces in providing Medicaid to the American public.

To inquire about your eligibility and avoid unnecessary asset reduction, you should consult an attorney about enrolling because:

You may deplete assets by waiting too long to begin asset protection planning; and
It is never too late to enroll.
Here are the 2004 Florida Medicaid requirements:

Gross Income for the applicant: Less than $1,692.00 per month
(Gross income includes any deductions such as Medicare Part B premium and withholding taxes.)
Assets for the applicant: Less than $2,000.00
Assets for the well spouse: Less than $92,760.00
(Assets must meet the limit at least one day during each month the application is pending.)
2004 Qualifications for Florida Institutional Care Program (ICP) Medicaid requirements:

Placement in a nursing home (Not Assisted Living Facility)
Referral by a physician
CARES unit of Department of Elder Affairs must agree the nursing home is proper placement.

Medicare

Medicare does not pay for long-term nursing home or home healthcare. The federal program does provide hospital and medical insurance to people aged 65 or older and to certain younger ill or disabled persons.

Enrollment for Medicare is automatic when you begin receiving Social Security. Three months before a person’s 65th birthday, they should receive a packet of information about enrollment.

Social Security

Social Security provides monthly benefits to workers when they retire, die, or become permanently disabled. Monthly benefits are payable to retired workers at age 62 (with reduced benefits) or to disabled workers at any age.

In 2002, retired workers in Florida received an average of $891 per month, according to the Social Security Administration Official Website.

Special Needs Trust

A Special Needs Trust is designed to preserve Medicaid, SSDI, and other public benefits in the following instances:

A disabled child (who is receiving public benefits) receives an inheritance.
A disabled child (who is receiving public benefits) receives proceeds from a personal injury settlement or suit.
A disabled adult in a skilled nursing facility (who is receiving public benefits) receives an inheritance.
A disabled adult in a skilled nursing facility (who is receiving public benefits) receives proceeds from a personal injury settlement or suit.
Without proper planning, a person on public benefits can lose their benefits if they inherit money or win money in a personal injury suit/settlement.