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Welcome | Law Office Of Diana M. Duffy, P.C.
Areas Of Practice
Probate and Administration of Estates / Nursing Home Medicaid
Probate and Administration of Estates where deceased resided in NY:
If a person dies with a will, the named executor needs to file for probate in the Surrogate’s Court of the county where the deceased person resided and was domiciled at the time of his or her death. After the attorney for the executor files certain forms and the Surrogate’s Court issues Letters Testamentary, the executor or administrator has the authority to gather, or marshal, the probate assets. Filing for probate and distributing probate assets is complicated and it is better for an executor to have an attorney familiar with the process assist with this paperwork.
If a person dies without a will, the next of kin can file for administration if the probate estate is more than $30,000. The proposed administrator usually is required to file a bond for the amount in the estate.
Given the monthly cost of nursing home care and the fact that a person admitted to one can typically live from 2 to 5 years, one can easily see how quickly the admission of a loved one to a nursing home can deplete the Medicaid applicant’s funds.
New York State still allows for a spousal refusal so that certain assets can be transferred to the healthy spouse (otherwise known as the community spouse) and so the institutionalized spouse can be put on Medicaid in order to prevent the wiping out the funds of the community spouse.
If there is no spouse, there are other methods to protect the funds of the institutionalized person, and there are certain exempt transfers that are permitted.
This page is informational and does not constitute legal advice. It is strongly recommended that you not try to do Medicaid planning on your own and consult an attorney in your jurisdiction who is trained in this area of the law.
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Law Office Of Diana M. Duffy, P.C.
Licensed in New York
1767 Central Park Avenue, Suite 6
Yonkers, NY 10710
info@duffyelderlaw.com
Phone: (914) 308-9693
Fax: (914) 200-5948
Office hours are by appointment only.
Nursing Home Medicaid Applications
What is Institutional Medicaid?
Institutional Medicaid pays for nursing home care. Medicaid is a Federal program that provides medical care to the poor.
The Medicaid application filing process, review and approval is determined by an administrative agency. If the person resided in Westchester County prior to nursing home admission, the Medicaid application is filed at the Westchester Department of Social Services. If the applicant resided in one of the five boroughs of New York City prior to nursing home admission then the Medicaid application is filed through the Medical Assistance Program of New York City’s Human Resources Administration.
If your loved one is placed in a nursing home and cannot return home, then Medicaid planning is still available for you to preserve the assets of your loved one. This is why Medicaid planning is so important because at best the nursing home applicant has 100 Medicare days and in some cases no Medicare days depending upon the situation. The private pay rate can be approximately $13,000 to 18,000 per month depending upon the choice of the nursing home.
Law Office Of Diana M. Duffy, P.C.
Call For an Initial Consultation
Phone: (914) 308-9693
Located in Yonkers, New York