If you have started thinking about nursing home costs — or about protecting the home and savings you have built for your family — you are in the right place. A Medicaid Asset Protection Trust is the legal tool that does this job in Georgia.
At The Hive Law, a complete package is one flat fee of $6,500. That covers every document, every phone call with our attorney, and transferring your home into the trust. No hourly billing. No surprise invoices.
For context: most Georgia elder law attorneys charge $7,000 to $12,000 for the same work. DIY kits online run a few hundred dollars, but they rarely hold up when Medicaid actually reviews them — and a trust that does not work when you need it costs your family everything it was meant to save.
This guide walks you through what a Medicaid Asset Protection Trust does, who it is right for, who it is not right for, and what your family could lose without one. Take your time. When you are ready, book your Family Protection Audit and we will walk through your specific number together.
What a Medicaid Asset Protection Trust Protects You From
The average monthly cost of a nursing home in Metro Atlanta is $8,500. That is $102,000 per year. Most Georgia families do not have that kind of cash flow after retirement, so they pay it out of their savings, investments, and eventually the equity in their home.
Medicaid will step in and cover long-term care, but only after you spend down almost everything you own. In Georgia, a single applicant cannot have more than $2,000 in countable assets to qualify. That means a $500,000 estate with a paid-off home, retirement accounts, and a modest nest egg can be reduced to $2,000 in a few years of care.
A Medicaid Asset Protection Trust moves your assets out of your personal name and into an irrevocable trust. After five years, those assets no longer count toward the Medicaid $2,000 limit. You qualify for Medicaid coverage, and your family inherits what you built rather than watching it disappear into a nursing home bill.
A MAPT also protects against Medicaid Estate Recovery. Without protection, Georgia Medicaid can place a lien against your home after you die to recoup what they paid for your care. Assets held inside a properly funded MAPT are not part of your probate estate, so there is nothing for the state to recover from.
The 5-Year Lookback: Why Planning Early Matters
Medicaid is careful about last-minute moves. When you apply, the state reviews everything you transferred in the previous five years. Any transfer that looks like it was meant to shield money from Medicaid — including funding a MAPT — gets counted against you.
The penalty works like a waiting period. For roughly every $6,700 you transferred, Medicaid delays your coverage by one month. Transfer a $250,000 home three years before applying, and your family could be waiting three years before Medicaid starts paying — covering every bill out of pocket the entire time.
The way around this is simple: set up your MAPT at least five years before you think you will need long-term care. Most of our clients do this in their early 60s, or the first time a health concern surfaces in the family. The earlier you plan, the safer your family is.
Your Cost at The Hive Law
The complete package is $6,500 — one flat fee, no hourly billing. That includes every document, every phone call with the attorney, and transferring your home into the trust.
If you own additional properties or a family business you want to include, there are small flat-rate add-ons. The calculator below does the math for you — use it to see exactly what your situation costs.
Georgia MAPT Cost Calculator
Answer a few questions. See your exact number. No email required.
$550 each — rentals, land, cabins.
$1,100 per state — we coordinate with local counsel.
$1,250 each — includes operating agreement update.
County recording fees are extra. We confirm your exact quote in your Design Meeting with our Attorney.
Revocable Trust vs. MAPT: Which One Do You Need?
Most Georgia families only need a revocable living trust. A MAPT is a specialized tool designed specifically for long-term care planning, and it comes with real tradeoffs: you give up control of the assets you put into it. That is not a tradeoff most families need to make.
Revocable Trust vs. Medicaid Asset Protection Trust
Same legal family. Different jobs. Here's how to tell which one your situation needs.
Revocable Trust
$3,500
For most Georgia families — avoids probate, keeps you in control.
Medicaid Asset Protection Trust
$6,500
For families preparing for nursing home or Medicaid planning.
| Feature | Revocable Trust | MAPT |
|---|---|---|
| Price at The Hive Law | $3,500 | $6,500 |
| Avoids probate | Yes | Yes |
| You can change or cancel it | Yes | No — it's irrevocable |
| You keep control of assets | Full control | Trustee controls |
| Protects assets from nursing home | No | Yes — after 5-year lookback |
| Protects from Medicaid spend-down | No | Yes |
| Daily access to assets | Unrestricted | Through trustee |
| Timing to be effective | Immediately | Set up 5+ years before need |
| Best for | Most Georgia families | Long-term care planning |
When a MAPT Makes Sense
A Medicaid Asset Protection Trust is the right tool when most of these are true for you:
- You are between 55 and 70 — old enough to see the risk, young enough to clear the 5-year lookback.
- You own a home and have other assets you want to protect — typically $200,000+ in total protectable assets.
- You have a family history of Alzheimer’s, dementia, or extended nursing home stays.
- You are in good-enough health to feel confident about the next five years.
- You can comfortably live without direct access to the assets you transfer into the trust.
- You have sufficient income and non-trust assets to cover your day-to-day needs.
When a MAPT Does NOT Make Sense
We will tell you this honestly: a MAPT is the wrong tool for more families than it is right for. Skip it if any of these apply:
- Most of your wealth is in IRAs or 401(k)s. Transferring retirement accounts into a MAPT triggers an immediate tax event — you would pay income tax on the full balance. These accounts are better handled with beneficiary designations and careful withdrawal planning.
- You are already in crisis. If a nursing home admission is imminent or recent, a MAPT will not help — you are already inside the 5-year lookback. Crisis planning uses different tools, and we walk through those in your Design Meeting.
- You are under 55 with no family history of long-term care. The odds do not yet justify locking up your assets. A revocable trust gives you the probate protection without the control tradeoff.
- Your total protectable assets are under $100,000. The cost of the MAPT and the ongoing complexity usually outweigh the benefit at that scale. Spend-down and community spouse allowances often get you to the same place.
- You will need the assets for income. A MAPT is not a savings account. If you depend on investment income for living expenses, a MAPT will trap the principal you need access to.
During your Family Protection Audit, if a MAPT is wrong for your situation, we tell you. No pressure to “upgrade” when it will not help your family.
What Goes Inside a MAPT (and What Doesn’t)
Works well inside a MAPT:
- Your primary home — the most common asset placed in a MAPT.
- Vacation homes, rental properties, and raw land.
- Brokerage accounts and non-retirement savings.
- CDs and money market accounts.
- Whole-life insurance policies that have built up cash value.
- A family business or LLC you own.
Does not belong in a MAPT:
- IRAs and 401(k)s — transferring these creates an immediate income tax bill on the full value.
- Term life insurance — no cash value to protect.
- Assets you need for income — once transferred, the trustee controls distributions.
- Cars you drive — usually kept in your personal name as an exempt asset under Medicaid rules.
Common MAPT Mistakes
Most MAPT failures we see come from one of four places:
- Setting it up too late. If you fund the trust within 5 years of applying for Medicaid, the protection does not apply to the transferred assets during the penalty period.
- Using DIY forms. Generic irrevocable trust templates do not contain the specific language Medicaid caseworkers look for. The trust may be legally valid but not Medicaid-compliant.
- Skipping the funding step. Signing the trust is not enough. You have to retitle your home, move accounts, and complete beneficiary updates. An unfunded MAPT protects nothing.
- Choosing the wrong trustee. You cannot serve as trustee of your own MAPT without breaking the protection. Most families name an adult child or sibling.
Alternatives to a MAPT
A MAPT is not the only way to protect assets from a nursing home bill. Depending on your situation, one of these may be a better fit:
- Community Spouse Resource Allowance. When one spouse enters a nursing home, the other spouse can keep a portion of joint assets — up to $162,660 in 2026 — without triggering Medicaid penalties.
- Caregiver Child Exemption. If an adult child has lived with you and provided care for at least two years before your nursing home admission, you can transfer the home to them without a lookback penalty.
- Disabled Child Transfer. Transferring a home to a permanently disabled child of any age is always exempt from the lookback period.
- Medicaid-Compliant Annuity. Converts countable cash into an income stream that does not count against the $2,000 asset limit.
- Prepaid Funeral or Burial. Up to $10,000 in prepaid arrangements is an exempt asset under Georgia Medicaid rules.
- Spend-Down Strategy. Paying off debts, making home improvements, and covering medical costs legally reduces countable assets without triggering a transfer penalty.
During your Design Meeting, we map out which of these apply to your situation and what the combined plan looks like. For many families, the answer is a MAPT plus one or two of the strategies above.
The Cost of NOT Having a MAPT
If you skip this step and you or your spouse eventually need long-term care, the math is simple. The average nursing home stay in Georgia is 2.5 years at $8,500 per month. That is $255,000 out of your estate before Medicaid even considers covering you.
A $6,500 MAPT set up at age 60 protects that same $255,000 — and the rest of what you own. The return on the investment is not measured in percentages. It is the difference between your grandchildren inheriting your home or watching it sold to pay a nursing home bill.
Your Next Step
Book a Family Protection Audit. It is a dedicated call with our lead attorney where we map out your assets, your family situation, and whether a MAPT is the right tool for you. If it is, you leave the call with exact numbers and a plan. If it is not, we tell you that directly and point you to what you actually need.