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 Orlando 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 Orlando
About 1 in 9 Orlando residents is 65 or older, and the typical Orlando home is worth about $394,000. Florida Medicaid doesn’t count your home in many cases, and when a spouse still lives there, the home is exempt regardless of its value. Giving the house to your children, though, can trigger the look-back penalty, so get advice before you transfer it.
If care isn’t needed yet, an irrevocable Medicaid Asset Protection Trust can start the five-year look-back clock early. Assets moved into it are no longer counted for Medicaid after five years and a day, as long as the trust is drafted and managed correctly.
If a parent or spouse needs care now, we’ll review the home, your accounts and your options with you before any decision is made.
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
Nursing home costs come as a shock to most families. In this episode of Life, Legacy & Wealth, Cary Moss explains how long-term care is actually paid for, the difference between Medicare and Medicaid, and which assets Medicaid counts and which it doesn’t. She also walks through practical ways to protect savings, homes and retirement accounts while still qualifying, and the difference between planning ahead and planning in a crisis.
Why Orlando 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 is right here in Orlando, on Conroy Windermere Road.
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 Orlando
Estate Planning · Supplemental Needs / Special Needs Planning · Probate · Trust Administration · Guardianship · Orlando
Medicaid Planning Across Central Florida
Windermere · Winter Garden · Horizon West · Clermont · Ocoee · Winter Park · Orange County · Seminole County · Osceola County · Lake County
Directions to Our Orlando Office
Talk to a Medicaid Planning Attorney Serving Orlando
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.