Can I Apply For Medicaid Without An Attorney?
A person can apply for Medicaid without an attorney. They can go through the application process, supply the documentation and follow the notices that they receive from the department of social services. However, if they have any assets at all, then it will be very complex. The application process for Medicaid can be complicated. Now, there are non-attorney firms that will do that application process. The problem is that when people try to do it themselves or when they use a non-attorney firm, oftentimes they don’t structure the assets properly. The non-attorney firm doesn’t really understand how to structure the assets properly and they’re also not qualified or allowed to give legal advice in New York.
I’ve walked into a lot of situations where individuals have done their own planning or used one of the non-attorney firms, and they essentially lost hundreds of thousands of dollars that they could have preserved. This is because they didn’t know what to look for and they didn’t know how to properly structure the assets. The non-attorney firm may have recommended a certain course of action simply because they didn’t know what else to recommend. However, there are some unscrupulous non-attorney firms that don’t really care because they figure that the person has dementia and won’t understand the difference anyway. That’s not the right way to approach it. In addition, when a person does it themselves or uses a non-attorney firm, oftentimes they’re not going to take into account the effective structure of capital gains issues. The children can be stuck with a multi-hundred-thousand-dollar capital gains tax that they could have avoided with a simple trust.
The right way to approach it is holistically. The individual’s entire financial structure, medical needs, and family structure should be considered before an estate plan is structured for them. A Medicaid asset protection trust, a will, or a power of attorney or healthcare proxy may be needed. There is a whole variety of circumstances that average people run into. If they aren’t dealt with properly, then Medicaid may even accuse the person of attempting to commit fraud. Alternatively, Medicaid may go after their assets after they pass away, which would mean taking hundreds of thousands of dollars from what would have been passed on to the children.
What Qualities Should I Look For In An Attorney To Help Me With My Medicaid Application?
In looking for an attorney to apply for Medicaid, it’s very important to find one who has people skills in addition to knowledge about the application process and the various different hiccups that can happen along the way.
Akiva Shapiro, A Personal Attorney for Your Life, Business & Legacy
I call myself a personal attorney for your life, business and legacy. This is because I look to get a clear understanding of the client’s entire life from a holistic legal perspective. It’s important to understand where the client is coming from, where they’re headed, where they want to go, what they have and what they want to protect.
It’s about protecting your rights, assets, what you own and what you are entitled to. If an attorney doesn’t understand a client’s overall situation, then they won’t be able to protect their assets or properly represent them. It’s very important to look for an attorney who the client can relate to and feel comfortable with. If a person can find the type of attorney who has the skills to do the job, as well as the individual personal skills, then they are going to be happy with that attorney.
For more information on Medicaid Applications in New York, Long Island, Nassau or Suffolk County, a free phone consultation is your next best step. Get the information and legal answers you are seeking by calling (516) 806-0762 today.
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