Home Estate Planning Medicaid Asset Protection Trust
Estate Planning · Medicaid
Protect your savings and your home from the cost of long-term care. A Medicaid Asset Protection Trust (MAPT) is an irrevocable trust that helps you preserve assets for your family while still being able to qualify for Medicaid if either spouse needs long-term care in the future.
How it works
When you sign the trust agreement, you create a new legal entity. Four roles make it work:
Veterans and surviving spouses may also consider a Veterans Asset Protection Trust. We can coordinate VA and Medicaid planning when both may apply.
Irrevocable
You give up the right to revoke or amend the trust, and principal can never be paid to you. Because you’ve also chosen not to receive trust income, that income isn’t counted as available income if you later apply for Medicaid.
You do keep a limited power of appointment, which lets you change who receives the remaining assets among your descendants through your will.
Funding
A trust protects only what’s in it. Assets you don’t transfer are not protected for Medicaid eligibility. Funding typically involves:
Assets you don’t transfer aren’t protected. Funding the trust correctly is one of the steps we help you complete.
Timing
Transfers into the trust are subject to a 60-month look-back period for Medicaid eligibility. Depending on how much you fund the trust with, you may not qualify for Medicaid benefits for up to 60 months after the month the trust is funded. That’s why planning early is so important.
Good to know
Assets owned by the trust, or with a valid beneficiary designation, pass to your loved ones without probate. Your will serves as a safety net for anything not retitled.
Day-to-day upkeep is light. Your Trustee keeps trust records separate from personal ones and reviews the schedule of trust assets once a year at tax time.
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To review your family, health, income, and assets.
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To determine whether a Medicaid Asset Protection Trust fits your goals and timeline.
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Tailored to your goals, and coordinated with VA planning where appropriate.
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The trust, and coordinating it with the rest of your plan.
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As health, finances, or rules change.
MAPT FAQ
Transfers into the trust are subject to a 60-month look-back. Depending on how much you fund the trust with, you may not qualify for Medicaid benefits for up to 60 months after the month the trust is funded.
No. IRAs can’t be transferred into a trust. Most people also keep one vehicle and one personal checking account outside the trust.
The trust is a grantor trust, so trust income is reported on your personal tax return, even though you don’t receive it.
You keep a limited power of appointment, which lets you change who receives the remaining assets among your descendants through your will.
Related services
Planning for veterans and surviving spouses who may qualify for a VA pension.
Protect assets while qualifying for long-term care benefits.
Planning for long-term care, Medicaid, and aging with dignity.
Avoid probate, plan for incapacity, and control how your family inherits.
Free resources
Free masterclass
Short classes on estate planning, long-term care, probate, and trust administration, presented by Pearson Bollman Law attorneys.
Free guide
A free guide to help you organize your information and prepare for a conversation about your plan.
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Contact our office to schedule a consultation and learn whether a Medicaid Asset Protection Trust is right for your family.
