Texas Medicaid Planning Attorney

The Medicaid Asset Protection Trust (MAPT)

A Medicaid Asset Protection Trust (MAPT) is a common strategy to meet Medicaid’s asset limits. Essentially, a MAPT helps reduce the amount of assets that Medicaid can count when determining whether an applicant is eligible for coverage. By moving assets into this special type of trust, you can preserve the assets you’ve worked a lifetime to accrue and protect the inheritances you would like to leave for your children and grandchildren.

Not every trust is designed for Medicaid planning, and the way a trust is structured can affect whether assets are treated as available for eligibility purposes. A Medicaid planning attorney can review your assets, timing, and goals and explain whether a Medicaid Asset Protection Trust or another strategy may be appropriate. If a MAPT is not a good fit, we can discuss other planning options and the documents they may require.

Advance Planning and Crisis Planning

Medicaid planning often looks different depending on whether long-term care is still a future concern or an immediate need.

Advance planning begins before long-term care is needed, often years before a Medicaid application. Timing matters because Medicaid reviews certain transfers made during a look-back period. In Texas, the current post-DRA look-back period for relevant transfers is generally 60 months, so transfers made within that period may affect eligibility or create a penalty period. Advanced planning may also include reviewing powers of attorney, ownership and beneficiary arrangements, long-term care insurance, and how different assets are titled or held.

Crisis planning applies when long-term care is already needed or likely to begin soon. A hospitalization, nursing home admission, or sudden diagnosis can leave families making decisions on a much shorter timeline. Even at that stage, there may still be planning options to consider.

Depending on the circumstances, planning may involve spousal protections, changes in how certain assets are held or spent, or a qualified income trust when income eligibility rules are an issue. The available strategies depend on the applicant’s assets, income, marital status, transfers, and care needs.

Crisis planning generally offers fewer options than planning well in advance, but families may still have lawful strategies available even after care has begun.

Whether you are planning ahead or responding to an immediate need, we begin by reviewing assets, income, recent transfers, family circumstances, and timing. We then explain the available options and how each may affect long-term care planning and Medicaid eligibility.

Learn more about Medicaid crisis planning.

Starting long-term care planning early generally provides more flexibility. Because Medicaid transfer rules include a look-back period, a trust or transfer created shortly before an application may not produce the same result as planning completed years earlier. If care is already needed, other strategies may still be available and should be evaluated based on the family’s specific circumstances.