Nursing home and long-term care costs can use up a lifetime of savings quickly. Florida Medicaid can help pay for that care, but its income and asset rules are strict, and mistakes can delay coverage. Sawyer & Sawyer, P.A. helps Seminole County families plan for long-term care, apply for benefits correctly, and protect as much as the law allows for a spouse and family.
How Florida Medicaid Helps Pay for Long-Term Care
Florida Medicaid covers nursing home care and, through its long-term care program, some care at home or in assisted living for people who meet the medical and financial requirements. Your income and countable assets must fall under set limits. Some assets don’t count, including your home in many cases.
The Five-Year Look-Back
Medicaid reviews gifts and transfers made during the five years before you apply. Giving assets away during that window can trigger a penalty period with no coverage. Planning early gives you the most options, but even when care is needed now, legal strategies are often still available.
When Income Is Over the Limit
If your income is above Florida’s limit for long-term care Medicaid, a qualified income trust (sometimes called a Miller trust) can allow you to qualify.
Benefits for Veterans
Veterans and surviving spouses may be eligible for VA pension benefits, including Aid and Attendance, to help pay for care. Cary Moss is VA-accredited and can help you apply.
Medicaid Planning in Seminole County
About 1 in 6 Seminole County residents is 65 or older. A typical Seminole County home is worth about $387,000, and Medicaid often treats the home as exempt. For savings and other countable assets, when care isn’t needed yet, a key pre-planning tool is an irrevocable Medicaid Asset Protection Trust.
Moving assets into the trust starts the five-year look-back clock. You can’t be the trustee or take principal from the trust, but you can still receive its income. Children are usually named as the lifetime beneficiaries.
The protection depends on the trust being drafted correctly and administered properly for the full five years. That’s why we recommend reviewing the trust every year, and we do that review with you.
Figures: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020–2024 5-year estimates.
From Our Podcast: Medicaid Planning Strategies to Reduce Nursing Home Costs and Protect Savings
Medicaid planning can start years before care is needed, or once a crisis has arrived. Cary Moss compares the two on Life, Legacy & Wealth, setting pre-planning beside crisis planning for long-term care and Medicaid eligibility. She also clears up which program actually covers long-term care, Medicare or Medicaid. Both paths offer options designed to preserve family wealth and reduce financial stress.
Why Seminole County Families Work With Sawyer & Sawyer
Sawyer & Sawyer, P.A. is a family firm that has served Central Florida since 1994. We treat every client as an extension of our family, and we focus on people before the paperwork.
- Cary L. Moss, Esq., Managing Partner. Concentrates on estate settlement, probate, trust administration, long-term care planning and estate planning. Served five years on the Board of Directors of the Academy of Florida Elder Law Attorneys, including a term as president.
- Thomas P. Moss, Esq., Senior Attorney. Focuses on estate planning, guardianship and estate settlement. Former Co-Chair of the Orange County Bar Association’s Estate, Guardianship and Trust Law Committee.
Our office at 8913 Conroy Windermere Road in Orlando is about 45 minutes from Sanford.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do we have to spend everything before Medicaid will pay?
No. With planning, many families protect a meaningful share of their assets, and a spouse who stays at home has special protections for income and assets.
Can we protect our savings by putting them in the healthy spouse’s name, or adding our kids to our accounts?
Not by itself. Medicaid counts a married couple’s combined assets, no matter whose name they’re in. Adding a child to a bank or investment account generally doesn’t help either, because Medicaid treats the money as the applicant’s unless the child can prove they contributed their own funds. It can also create tax problems for your child.
Why does a power of attorney matter so much for Medicaid planning?
It lets someone you trust act for you if you lose capacity. For Medicaid planning, it must include specific enhanced powers, such as the power to create trusts and change beneficiary designations. Without a strong one, many strategies can’t be used, and the family may face a guardianship, which takes time and puts decisions in a judge’s hands.
Related Reading
- Medicaid Planning in Florida: What Every Family Should Know Before a Crisis Hits
- Florida’s 5-Year Lookback Rule: What Every Caregiver Must Know
- Can’t I Just Give My House to My Kids So I Can Qualify for Medicaid?
Other Services in Seminole County
Estate Planning · Supplemental Needs / Special Needs Planning · Probate · Trust Administration · Guardianship · Seminole County
Medicaid Planning Across Central Florida
Orlando · Windermere · Winter Garden · Horizon West · Clermont · Ocoee · Winter Park · Orange County · Osceola County · Lake County
Directions to Our Office From Seminole County
Talk to a Medicaid Planning Attorney Serving Seminole County
Call (407) 909-1900 or send us a message to set up a consultation. Our office is open Monday through Thursday, 9 AM to 5 PM, and Friday, 9 AM to 12 PM.