A Hauppauge estate planning lawyer will help you to ensure that you make the correct type of trust if a trust should be a part of your estate plan. Trusts can serve many different goals, but making the wrong kind of trust could be detrimental because you may be unable to get the protections that you expect. In far too many situations, the creation of the wrong type of trust will end up causing irreversible financial loss since the mistake often will not be discovered until it is far too late to correct the problem. 
Mark S. Eghrari & Associates PLLC will help to ensure that this does not happen. A Hauppauge estate planning lawyer at our firm will make certain that you have created the type of trust that is right for you and will help you to ensure that the trust you create is a legally valid one that provides expected protections. Give us a call to find out about the ways in which we can help with the trust creation process and to get started on creating your trust today.
What if You Make the Wrong Kind of Trust?
If you make the wrong kind of trust, significant financial loss could result. For example, many people make a trust to provide protection for their assets in case they need coverage through Medicaid. Medicaid is a means-tested benefits program, but it is also the only program that pays for long term care or nursing home care if you don’t need skilled care. Medicare and private insurers only pay for brief durations of skilled care, so your options are to pay out of pocket or get Medicaid to cover you if you need long term care because you’re sick or old and can’t do basic life activities any more.
Creating a trust can help you to make sure you can qualify to get Medicaid when you need it, because you can use a trust to structure the ownership of your assets so the assets do not count for purposes of Medicaid eligibility. In other words, when Medicaid looks to see if you have too much wealth to qualify for benefits, you will not have the trust assets counter and so you can qualify for Medicaid to cover your care without first having to spend your money and even sell your property.
The problem is, not every trust will provide the protection that you are hoping for when it comes to qualifying for Medicaid. If you have made a revocable living trust, you still have control over the trust assets that are held within the trust. As a result, the assets will still count for Medicaid qualification purposes and you won’t be able to get covered if you have too many financial resources because of those assets.
Often, this problem won’t be discovered until it comes time to qualify for Medicaid, but by then it will be too late to create the right kind of trust since Medicaid looks back over a five year period of time to determine if you made asset transfers when Medicaid determines if you can get benefits. If you try to transfer your wealth into an irrevocable trust that would protect your assets, you’ll end up disqualifying yourself from Medicaid for a period of time.
This is just one example of how making the wrong kind of trust could lead to major financial loss. You could also face losses from creditors or estate tax, among other things, if you have made the wrong trust type. You should reach out to an experienced attorney to make certain that this doesn’t happen as your attorney can provide you with advice on making the right trust when you’re making your plans for the future.
Getting Help from A Hauppauge Estate Planning Lawyer
Don’t make a mistake in your estate plan that costs you your wealth or that costs you or your family their current or future financial security. It is up to you to get the legal help that you need to make effective use of tools like trusts that provide you with strong protection for your interests. We can help to make the trust creation process work smoothly and we can help you to ensure that the trust you create protects your assets and protects the people you love.
To find out more about the ways in which a Hauppauge estate planning lawyer can help you with all aspects of the trust creation process, join us for a free seminar. You can also give us a call at (631) 265-0599 or contact us online at any time to get personalized help with your trust creation and with all other aspects of your estate planning process. Call now to get started.
Mark S. Eghrari, Estate Planning Attorney
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