This is our next article in our series about how to set up trusts for asset protection in Oklahoma. Our last article discussed the basic concepts of asset protection trusts. Among those basic concepts is deciding who we are trying to protect. Protecting yourself is different from protecting someone else, like a child or grandchild.
In this article, we will discuss how an elderly couple can protect their own assets, for their own benefit.
Why do elderly couples need asset protection in Oklahoma?
There are many reasons why an elderly person or couple would need asset protection. A common worry is having protection from government programs like Medicaid. We’ll discuss this later. Another concern would be protection from hospital creditors for large medical bills. You might have family members who want to take advantage of an elderly relative. All of these are valid reasons for creating asset protection trusts.
Protecting assets from Medicaid
A popular reason for setting up an asset protection trust is to protect an elderly person’s assets from Medicaid. This becomes an issue when the elderly person is in need of long term nursing care. Long term nursing care is very expensive. And while all persons over 65 receive Medicare coverage, Medicare only provides coverage for short-term care.
There is a government program that will cover the cost of long-term care, and that is called Medicaid. However, in order to qualify for Medicaid coverage in Oklahoma, a person cannot have more than $2,000 in assets.
Many people find that concept to be ridiculous after a lifetime of paying taxes. Therefore, lawyers have found a way around this by creating Medicaid Asset Protection Trusts (MAPT). However, not every trust will qualify for asset protection from Medicaid. There are several key aspects that make MAPT’s different from other trusts. We cover those in our next article on protecting assets from Medicaid.
Protection from creditors, such as hospital bills
For an elderly person with health and medical challenges, paying for the expense of hospital bills does become a concern. Healthcare costs at modern hospitals can lead to thousands in medical debt.
By placing all of your assets into an asset protection trust, you can shield those assets from debt collectors. This is something to think about if you anticipate having large medical bills in the future.
Protection from family members
This is the most uncomfortable item to address, but it is a reality in some families. If you worry that some family members might influence an elder, it may be time to protect those assets in a trust.
To do this, we will need a trusted person can that serve as trustee. The benefit is that this Trustee can stand firm against unprincipled, dishonest, or deceitful family members who might try to control the vulnerable elder.
How to set up an asset protection trust for an elder in Oklahoma
If you want to protect your assets or those of an elderly family member, please contact our office. We’d love to help you learn more about the process. We typically schedule 15-minute calls with the attorney, just to introduce ourselves to the client. From there, we discuss certain intake homework that needs to be completed prior to the consultation.
We then will schedule a consultation that may also include the design meeting. The consultation will involve discussing the assets and the concerns. The design meeting is where we map out how to achieve the client’s goals. We discuss what type of trust to use and how to structure it for the client’s needs.
We invite you to email us or call us at 405-607-7799.
In our next article, we will specifically address the issue of how to use a trust to protect assets from Medicaid.