The pace of decisions in Medicaid appeals has picked up recently, with several significant decisions being rendered in courts and administrative agencies in New Jersey. As a result, there has been a spike in interest by attorneys who seek to identify and understand the estate planning strategies that can successfully accelerate eligibility for Medicaid benefits for their clients who require long-term care, either at home, in nursing homes or in other care facilities. The recently enacted federal law called the Deficit Reduction Act as well as new interpretations of state regulations have rendered ineffective many Medicaid planning strategies which attorneys relied upon to help ill clients qualify for Medicaid in the past. Since the recent Medicaid decisions have highlighted new strategies, there has been a real interest in understanding the recent decisions. Having been the first to litigate an administrative case, entitled gl-v-division-of-medical-assistance, involving one new estate planning strategy called a “gift and loan” / “promissory note” plan to a successful conclusion recently, and based upon my past success in the New Jersey Supreme Court in the guardianship / Medicaid planning case entitled In re Keri, I have been invited by local bar associations to explain these new cases and new Medicaid planning strategies to attorneys. Recently, I was a speaker at the Union County Bar Association Breakfast Meeting on November 26, 2008. I was also a speaker at the Middlesex County Bar Association Breakfast Meeting on December 4, 2008. The topic of both meetings was: New Medicaid Planning Strategies.

My handout for both meetings can be found here – new-medicaid-strategies Hopefully, the summaries of the new cases will help the reader understand the new Medicaid planning strategies that are developing to assist ill New Jersey residents and their families pay for the catastrophic costs of long-term custodial care.