Nursing Home Asset Protection

A good portion of our clients engaged in virtually no planning (before they came to our office) when faced with a parent or loved one entering a nursing home.  Even in this late stage of the game, there are plenty of opportunities to protect a parent’s or loved ones’ assets from nursing home related costs.  The key document to this process is the financial power of attorney for the nursing home resident.  Without a doubt, this document will be key to the asset protection process.  Ideally, this power of attorney was drafted by an attorney and, if recently executed, conforms with the new Maryland provisions relating to financial powers of attorney.  Without this document, the next question is whether or not the nursing home resident can sign a new financial power of attorney.  Even if this person cannot sign (or should not sign), then seeking court authorization will be neccessary.  The absolute key is that just because one enters the nursing home do not assume that you can’t save assets at that point.  That assumption is totally incorrect.