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 Windermere 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 Windermere
Nearly 1 in 4 Windermere residents is 65 or older, and a typical home here is worth close to $1 million. That value matters for long-term care Medicaid. Florida exempts a homestead only up to a set amount of equity, but if your spouse still lives in the home, it stays exempt whatever it’s worth.
Planning for the spouse at home goes further. If that spouse dies first, a traditional will that leaves everything to the spouse receiving Medicaid can knock them off benefits. A spousal supplemental needs trust in the at-home spouse’s will keeps benefits in place, and what remains can later pass to your family.
We start by sorting everything you own into exempt and countable assets. That shows you what Medicaid already leaves alone, and where planning can protect more for your spouse and family.
Figures: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020–2024 5-year estimates.
From Our Podcast: Medicaid’s 5-Year Lookback Rule Explained: Protecting Your Family’s Assets from Penalty Periods
Cary Moss explains on this episode of Life, Legacy & Wealth why moving assets to children or a spouse rarely works the way families expect, and how Medicaid calculates a penalty period for uncompensated transfers. The point that matters most for a home: some homestead property transfers are exempt, one of the real exemptions many families don’t know about.
Why Windermere 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 5 minutes from Windermere.
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 Windermere
Estate Planning · Supplemental Needs / Special Needs Planning · Probate · Trust Administration · Guardianship · Windermere
Medicaid Planning Across Central Florida
Orlando · Winter Garden · Horizon West · Clermont · Ocoee · Winter Park · Orange County · Seminole County · Osceola County · Lake County
Directions to Our Office From Windermere
Talk to a Medicaid Planning Attorney Serving Windermere
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.