09/02/2026
What happens to your savings, your home, and the assets you have worked a lifetime to build if you eventually need long-term nursing care?
Many families don't consider this question until a health crisis makes it urgent.
A Medicaid Asset Protection Trust can be an important planning tool for some individuals and families who want to prepare for future long-term care expenses while protecting assets for the next generation. But timing matters. Medicaid's five-year look-back period means this planning should generally happen well before care is needed.
In this article, I explain:
• What a Medicaid Asset Protection Trust is
• How it differs from a traditional revocable trust
• What types of assets may be protected
• Why the five-year Medicaid look-back period matters
• Why planning early can make such a significant difference
If protecting your assets from the potential cost of long-term care is part of your estate planning goals, it is worth understanding your options before you need them.
Read more: https://chrisdiedlinglaw.com/what-is-a-medicaid-asset-protection-trust/
As you age, the prospect of requiring nursing care rises. It is a reality that many Americans have to face – there were around 1.3 million Americans living in nursing homes in 2020 according to the Centers for Disease Control, with that number likely to double by 2050. Around 75,900 of those curre...