Long-Term Care (LTC) Planning & Special Needs Planning

In addition to performing estate planning with a concentration on planning for seniors and people with disabilities, another fundamental part of our practice at NWLG is long-term care (LTC) and special needs planning.

Clients often come to us because they (or a child of theirs) have been diagnosed with an illness or have a catastrophic injury that will require Long-Term Supports and Services (LTSS). These LTC services (sometimes called “custodial long-term care”) assist with the tasks of daily living – bathing, eating, transferring, mobility, toileting, etc.

The cost of LTSS/custodial LTC is not covered by most health care plans, including Medicare. Therefore, the goals of long-term care planning are to:

• Preserve a client’s assets to the extent possible
• Achieve or maintain the client’s chosen living situation
• Secure government benefits to pay for LTSS, when appropriate

Some government programs cover the costs of LTSS—at home, in an assisted living facility, or in a nursing home—but only in specific situations. We know when, and how, to access these public programs in Minnesota, which include, but are not limited to:

• Medicare
• Medical Assistance (MA)
• Elderly Waiver (EW)
• CADI Waiver (CADI)
• Medical Assistance for Employed Persons with Disabilities (MA-EPD)
• Veterans’ Benefits
  • Minnesota Veterans Homes

As with estate planning, creating trusts is sometimes part of LTC planning. Specifically, drafting special needs trusts and supplemental needs trusts are often core parts of long-term care planning for people who are aging and living with chronic illness, for children of our clients, and/or for folks living with disabilities.

We specialize in drafting and—just as importantly—in administering trusts properly. Your special needs planning attorney should be able to do both.

(See the right-hand sidebar for more information about Northwoods Law Group’s other practice areas.)