Question 1

What is elder law in Maryland?

Accepted Answer

Elder law covers the legal issues that arise as people age — long-term care funding, Medicaid eligibility, powers of attorney, advance directives, and protecting assets from nursing home costs. In Maryland, it also includes navigating the state's specific Medicaid rules, the five-year look-back period, and estate recovery after death.

Question 2

When should we start Medicaid planning?

Accepted Answer

The earlier, the better — ideally five or more years before long-term care becomes necessary. Maryland Medicaid reviews asset transfers made in the 60 months before an application is filed. Planning done inside that window is harder to protect. Planning done outside it is largely beyond Medicaid's reach.

Question 3

Will Medicaid take my parent's house?

Accepted Answer

Not during their lifetime if a spouse lives there, or if your parent intends to return home. After death, Maryland's estate recovery program can seek reimbursement from the estate — which can mean a lien on the home when it's sold. Proper planning, including a Medicaid Asset Protection Trust established before the five-year window, can protect the home from recovery entirely.

Question 4

What is crisis Medicaid planning?

Accepted Answer

Crisis Medicaid planning is what we do when a loved one is already in a nursing home and paying privately — and the family needs to qualify for Medicaid as quickly as possible while protecting as much as the rules allow. Strategies include spousal protections, converting countable assets to exempt ones, Medicaid-qualified annuities, and the caregiver-child exemption. Time matters: call before another month's bill arrives.

Question 5

What is a Medicaid Asset Protection Trust?

Accepted Answer

A Medicaid Asset Protection Trust (MAPT) is an irrevocable trust that removes assets — including your home — from Medicaid's countable asset calculation after Maryland's five-year look-back period passes. Assets placed in a MAPT more than five years before a Medicaid application are protected from spend-down and from estate recovery after death. You can still live in the home. Your children or other beneficiaries inherit what's inside the trust.

Question 6

Can a power of attorney be used for Medicaid planning?

Accepted Answer

Yes — but only if it's drafted correctly. Standard financial powers of attorney often lack the specific gifting and trust-funding powers Maryland Medicaid planning requires. Elder-law-grade powers of attorney include these provisions explicitly. A generic power of attorney from a general practice attorney or an online form frequently fails at this step, leaving families unable to act.

Question 7

What if mom is already in a nursing home?

Accepted Answer

It is not too late. Even after a nursing home admission, strategies exist to protect remaining assets — including spousal protections, exempt-asset conversions, Medicaid-qualified annuities, and in some cases the caregiver-child exemption for the family home. The options narrow with time, which is why the most important thing you can do right now is call and find out where you stand.

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