The Listen to Lawrence Letter: Aging Ain’t for Sissies

READER QUESTION:

Dear Lawrence,

First, I’d like to thank you for your newsletters. Regardless of them being specifically relevant to me, they are always interesting and informative. Second, you recently helped my family with a revocable trust for my parents for which I am greatly appreciative. I am interested in a little information about a Medicaid Trust, potentially for my husband and myself.

My husband has a strong family history of Alzheimer’s with his mother having early-onset Alzheimer’s in her 50s and passing away back in 2009. We handled things with the lawyers some 20 years back, so what was applicable then is not necessarily so now. My husband is 54, and he has noted some difficulty focusing, while I have noticed some concerning things, like him forgetting his cell phone number and directions driving to someplace familiar. We’ve discussed reaching out to you, but he is resistant. I don’t want to push him, but I have expressed some concern about making decisions in a timely manner as I believe there is a window of opportunity to protect assets, and I would like him to be part of this decision process.

That said, what is the time frame for moving assets in relation to filing for Medicaid? What is the difference/benefits of simply putting the house, etc., solely in mine or our children’s names vs. a Medicaid trust? My husband is also uncomfortable with giving control over his assets away. I know that with my parents’ revocable trust, they continue to maintain control of their assets and can change their beneficiaries, etc., at any time. Is that similar to a Medicaid Trust?

Thanks for any assistance you can provide. I suspect others will be as interested as I am in your response.

MY RESPONSE:

My heart goes out to you over all this. Since he is still competent, he will have to be involved in the process, and NOW is the time to get things moving. He will have to put on his big boy pants and come in here to talk to me about the ways to proceed while preserving as much control as possible for him…for as long as possible.  Start by showing him this email. Have him listen to my online seminar or come to the next one in person…but there is no substitute for speaking to me personally and educating himself. Without sitting down with you both, I cannot advise on next steps. I need to see and hear the big picture. Revocable and Irrevocable trusts are just tools in the toolshed waiting to come out for the right project. We will see what may be appropriate.  I look forward to seeing you both soon.

I hope this helps!