Medicaid & Long-Term Care Planning Attorney in Houston, TX

You can read the rules, but applying them is where families get hurt. A gift to a child, a transfer into the wrong kind of trust, or a sale for less than fair value can trigger a penalty period that delays coverage when care is needed most. The rules also change every year. Planning with an attorney who coordinates your trust, deeds, and estate plan avoids mistakes that can't be undone.

Ideally five or more years before you expect to need long-term care, because Texas Medicaid reviews transfers made during the five years before you apply. Planning early gives you the widest range of options, including a long-term care planning trust. If care is already needed, planning still matters for choices like how a couple's assets and income are treated, but the options are narrower. The sooner you start, the more choices you keep.

Not during your lifetime in most cases. Your home is usually exempt for eligibility while you, your spouse, or certain relatives live there or you intend to return, up to an equity limit. After death, the Texas Medicaid Estate Recovery Program can seek repayment from your probate estate for long-term care it paid for, with some exceptions and hardship waivers. How your home passes at death affects what estate recovery can reach, which is why Medicaid planning and estate planning belong together.

Yes, within limits. Medicaid's spousal rules let the spouse who stays at home keep a share of the couple's countable assets and, in some cases, part of the other spouse's income, so they aren't left without support. The amounts are set each year. Planning ahead can help a couple make the most of those protections. Francisca explains how the rules apply to your situation.

Texas has an income cap for nursing home Medicaid, set at $2,982 per month for an individual in 2026. Applicants with income above the cap may still qualify by using a qualified income trust, sometimes called a Miller trust, which holds the excess income each month under strict rules. It's a common tool, and it must be set up and managed correctly for it to work.

No. Assets in a revocable living trust still count as yours for Medicaid, because you can take them back at any time. A revocable trust avoids probate and plans for incapacity, but it doesn't help with Medicaid eligibility. Long-term care planning uses a different tool, an irrevocable trust designed for that purpose, and it must be set up well before the look-back period.

Only for a short time. Medicare covers skilled nursing care for up to 100 days after a qualifying hospital stay, with full coverage for the first 20 days and a daily copay after that. It doesn't cover long-term custodial care, the help with bathing, dressing, and daily living that most nursing home residents need. That's why many families turn to Medicaid, long-term care insurance, or their own savings.

No. Francisca designs the planning: the long-term care planning trust, deeds and transfers, incapacity documents, and an estate plan that fits your care goals. The firm does not file Medicaid applications or appeals, and it refers that work to trusted colleagues who handle applications with Texas Health and Human Services. That keeps your planning and your application in the right hands at each step.

That's a decision to make with your financial advisor or insurance professional, and Francisca coordinates your legal plan with their advice. Long-term care insurance can pay for care at home, in assisted living, or in a nursing home, and it can preserve savings for a spouse or heirs. Policies vary widely in cost and coverage. Your estate plan should name who can manage claims if you can't, through your power of attorney.