Memento Mori Law
Estate Planning & Elder Law
A Practice Group of Harden Law Office
Medicaid and Long-Term Care Planning for Kansas and Missouri Families
Long-term care planning brings together personal wishes, family responsibilities, legal authority, and financial questions. It can be useful long before care is needed and especially important when circumstances begin to change.
Joshua Harden at Memento Mori Law helps Kansas and Missouri families consider the legal planning issues connected with future care. The firm is based in Shawnee, Kansas, with web consultations available.
Consider the Decisions Before the Documents
Where would you prefer to receive care? Who should help make financial or health care decisions if you cannot? What existing documents, insurance, income, and assets need to be considered?
Those questions provide a starting point for legal planning. A useful conversation identifies both long-range goals and immediate concerns, including whether someone already needs assistance or a transition to a different care setting.
Coordinate Care Planning With Your Estate Plan
Wills, trusts, financial powers of attorney, and health care documents serve different purposes. Reviewing them together can help identify gaps, conflicting instructions, and questions about who can act.
Care planning also involves practical coordination with family members and appropriate financial or care professionals. Josh can help clarify the legal questions and the work the firm can undertake.
What We Can Discuss
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Reviewing decision-making documents before care needs arise.
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Understanding how an existing estate plan fits changing circumstances.
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Identifying legal issues associated with a spouse or parent's care.
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Organizing information for a discussion of public-benefit eligibility.
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Reviewing proposed gifts, ownership changes, or other transactions before acting.
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Establishing priorities when a family faces an urgent care-related decision.
Be Careful With Assumptions About Benefits
Medicaid eligibility and transfer rules can be complicated, and Kansas and Missouri administer their own programs. Giving away property or changing ownership can have consequences. There is no universal strategy that guarantees eligibility or preserves every asset.
Before making a transfer or relying on an informal suggestion, discuss your circumstances and obtain advice appropriate to the proposed action.
Common Questions
Is it too early to plan?
Planning before an urgent need can provide more time to consider wishes, documents, and options. The appropriate scope depends on your circumstances.
Can you guarantee Medicaid eligibility?
No. Eligibility depends on the program rules and the individual's circumstances. A consultation can identify the issues and whether further work is appropriate. Gifts or sales for less than fair market value during the generally applicable five-year look-back period can delay Medicaid coverage of long-term care (42 U.S.C. § 1396p(c)). Exceptions and state rules matter, so obtain advice before transferring property.
What should I bring?
Existing estate planning documents, information about care needs, insurance, income, assets, and any recent or proposed transfers can help frame the discussion.
Begin From Home
Web consultations let you discuss the initial questions without arranging an office visit. Josh can explain what information and next steps are needed.
Read about estate planning from home.
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