What planning can and can’t do
Medicaid can pay for nursing home care, but only for people who meet its income and asset rules. Planning looks at what your parent owns, how it’s titled, and what the rules count, then lays out the choices.
Planning can’t promise that someone will qualify, or by when. The state agency makes that decision. What we can do is explain the rules that apply, prepare the documents, and help you avoid steps that cause problems later.
One rule shapes most of the advice. When someone applies for long-term care Medicaid, the agency reviews gifts and transfers made during a set period before the application, called the look-back period. A transfer for less than its value during that time can delay coverage (42 U.S.C. § 1396p(c)). Giving the house or savings to the children just before applying often backfires.
When one spouse needs care and the other stays at home, federal law protects part of the couple’s savings and income for the spouse at home (42 U.S.C. § 1396r-5).
The family home and long-term care
The house is often the family’s largest asset, and the biggest worry. Federal law allows a home to be transferred to certain people without the usual penalty. They include a spouse, a child under 21, or a child who is blind or disabled. They also include a child who lived in the home for at least two years and gave care that kept the parent out of a facility (42 U.S.C. § 1396p(c)(2)).
There’s a second issue after death. Both states must seek repayment of certain Medicaid costs from the estate of a person who received care (N.C. Gen. Stat. § 108A-70.5; S.C. Code § 43-7-460). The house can be part of that estate. Planning looks at the house with both rules in mind.
A revocable living trust doesn’t protect the house from these rules, because Medicaid counts what’s in it as your parent’s (42 U.S.C. § 1396p(d)(3)). See trusts for what a trust does do. When a deed is part of the plan, we prepare and record it. See inherited property and deeds.
Powers of attorney: what being someone’s agent means
A power of attorney is a document naming who can act for your parent if they can’t. With one in place, a son or daughter can sign the Medicaid application, manage accounts and deal with the facility. Your parent has to sign it while they can still make their own decisions.
Being the agent is a legal duty, not only a favor. In both states, an agent must act in good faith, within the authority the document gives, and as your parent would reasonably expect (N.C. Gen. Stat. § 32C-1-114; S.C. Code § 62-8-114). Signing papers as your parent’s agent doesn’t, by itself, make you personally responsible for their bills. Using your parent’s money for yourself is a breach of the role.
Guardianship, in South Carolina
If a parent can no longer make decisions and never signed a power of attorney, a court may need to appoint a guardian. In South Carolina, Justin and Tiffany handle guardianship, which starts with a petition to the probate court (S.C. Code § 62-5-303).
We don’t handle guardianship in North Carolina. For North Carolina families, Christine helps with powers of attorney and planning while a parent can still sign. A power of attorney signed in time can make a guardianship unnecessary.
Who handles your matter
The state where your parent lives, and where they’ll receive care, decides which attorney you meet. Christine Hart handles North Carolina. Justin Montgomery and Tiffany Lumpkin handle South Carolina. If your parent lives in one state and the house is in the other, tell us when you call.
How fees are set
The first meeting is a paid appointment. After it, you get a written fee or scope letter that sets out what we’ll do and what it costs, before any work begins.
Book a first meeting
Call 980-243-4470 or request a time online. Tell us which state your parent lives in, and what has changed. You’ll leave the first meeting knowing which rules apply and what to do first. You can bring a list of accounts, the deed to the house, and any power of attorney or will your parent already signed. See our Charlotte and Summerville offices.
Responsible attorneys: Christine Hart (North Carolina), 122 N. McDowell Street, Charlotte, NC 28204. Justin Montgomery and Tiffany Lumpkin (South Carolina), 201 Sigma Drive, Suite 300, Summerville, SC 29486.