Medicaid Planning in Georgia

Medicaid Planning in Georgia — What Works and What Does Not

Georgia Medicaid looks back five years before approving long-term care coverage. Gifts made during that window count against you. The right time to plan is before anyone is sick. The Hive Law builds the asset protection trust, re-titles the home, and tracks the five-year clock so Medicaid approves your family when the day comes.

Here Is What Happens to Families Without a Plan

A Georgia nursing home costs $8,820 a month on average. Medicaid will not pay a dollar of that until your assets are spent down to $2,000. For most families, that means selling the house, liquidating savings, and watching years of work disappear before any help arrives. Without planning, the spend-down is not a risk it is the outcome.

The 5-Year Look-Back Rule

Medicaid reviews five years of financial history before approving your application. Any asset transfer made during that window gifts to children, moving money into a family member’s account, selling property below market value triggers a penalty period during which Medicaid pays nothing. The penalty is calculated based on the amount transferred, not the intent behind it. Families who give assets away to “get under the limit” often create the very crisis they were trying to avoid.

What Happens to Your Home

Your home is not counted against you while you are alive and receiving Medicaid. But Georgia’s Medicaid Estate Recovery Program (MERP) places a lien on your estate after you pass. If your home goes through probate, the state can recover what it paid for your care before your family sees a dollar. The home most families assume is protected is often the first thing the state looks to recover.

Disabled Children and Inheritance

If you have a child receiving SSI or Medicaid disability benefits, leaving them an inheritance directly can disqualify them from those benefits. A standard will has no mechanism to prevent this. Without the right structure in place, the inheritance you leave to help them can end the very benefits they depend on.

What Medicaid Planning Does Not Cover

Medicaid planning is not retroactive. If you are already in a nursing home and have not planned, options narrow significantly.
There is no guarantee of Medicaid approval. Planning improves your position, but eligibility depends on DFCS review of your full application.
A Medicaid plan is not a complete estate plan. It addresses one specific threat long-term care cost and works alongside a broader estate plan, not instead of one.
Retirement accounts are treated differently. IRAs and 401(k)s have their own rules under Medicaid and require separate analysis.

Who This Applies To

You do not have to be in a crisis to need Medicaid planning. This applies to anyone over 55 with a home, retirement savings, or a spouse who would be left behind. It applies to families with a loved one who has a progressive illness. It applies to anyone who has watched another family go through this without a plan. The families who plan five years out have choices. The families who wait until a diagnosis do not.

$8,820/mo Average Georgia nursing home cost

$2,000 What Medicaid lets you keep without a plan

5 Years How far back Georgia looks at every financial move you made

Medicaid Planning Is Not About Hiding Assets. It Is About Using the Law the Way It Was Designed to Be Used.

Federal and Georgia law include specific protections for married couples, disabled children, caregivers, and homeowners. Medicaid planning uses those protections on purpose structured correctly, before the crisis arrives. Every strategy we use is legal, disclosed, and built around the specific rules that govern Georgia Medicaid eligibility.

The Planning Strategies We Use

The right strategy depends on your timeline, your assets, and your family structure. We work with Medicaid Asset Protection Trusts (MAPTs), which remove assets from countable status while preserving your access to the income they generate. We use Caregiver Child Exemptions when an adult child has lived with and cared for a parent. We structure Community Spouse Resource Allowances to protect the maximum amount for a spouse who remains at home. For crisis situations, we use exempt asset conversions and Medicaid-compliant annuities to protect what is left. The strategy is always matched to the timeline the sooner we start, the more we can protect.

What You Walk Away With

At the end of the planning process, you have a legal structure that shields your home and assets from the Medicaid spend-down, a clear path to eligibility when the time comes, and a plan that does not leave your spouse or children scrambling. If you have a child with a disability, we build in a Special Needs Trust so the inheritance you leave does not cost them their benefits. Every plan is built to work the first time not to be fixed later under pressure.

Already Facing a Crisis?

If a diagnosis has already arrived or a nursing home placement is imminent, planning is still possible. Crisis Medicaid planning is more limited than proactive planning, but it is not nothing. Exempt asset conversions, spend-down strategies, and proper application timing can still protect a meaningful portion of what you have built. Even at the last hour, the right moves matter.

How to Get Started

The first step is a Family Protection Audit a 60-minute meeting with Melissa to review your assets, your timeline, and your family’s specific exposure. The cost is $500, credited in full toward your estate plan if you move forward. If Medicaid planning is the right fit, the next step is a complete plan built around your situation. Most Medicaid planning engagements at The Hive Law start at:

Estimated value at other firms: $10,297

$6,500

One flat fee. No hourly billing. No surprise invoices.

The Documents

Medicaid Asset Protection Trust (MAPT)
Pour-Over Will
Quitclaim Deed
Financial Power of Attorney
Advance Healthcare Directive
HIPAA Authorization

The Implementation

Document Walk-Through Call
Trust Funding Session
Funding Checkup

The Included Services

Successor Trustee Orientation
Professional Coordination Call
Surviving Spouse Transition Call
Post-Signing Checklist

Every asset we place in your MAPT is structured to meet Georgia Medicaid eligibility requirements. If a drafting error affects your qualification, we correct it at no charge.

Your $500 Family Protection Audit is credited toward this total. Everything is handled over the phone. Documents stored in a secure client portal. Most families complete the process in 2 to 3 weeks.

You leave the audit knowing exactly where you stand and exactly what to do next.

The fact that you read this far tells us something about you. You take this seriously. So do we.

Without a Plan

You spend down to $2,000 before Medicaid pays a single dollar
Georgia places a lien on your home and recovers costs when it is sold
Your surviving spouse loses most of what you built together
You give assets to your children too soon and trigger a penalty period that delays Medicaid
You apply for Medicaid in a crisis with no protection in place
Your children inherit nothing because long-term care consumed it all

With Medicaid Planning

Assets are protected in an irrevocable trust before the five-year window closes
Your home is shielded from Georgia’s lien and estate recovery program
Your surviving spouse keeps up to $162,660 in assets plus the home, car, and income
You qualify for Medicaid without spending everything first
Your plan is complete before a crisis forces your hand
Your children receive what you intended not whatever happens to be left

How It Works

1

Schedule Your Family Protection Audit

Book a 60-minute call with Melissa. She reviews your assets, your family situation, and where you are currently exposed.

2

Melissa Designs Your Plan

She builds your estate plan from scratch based on your specific assets and family. You get an exact quote before you commit to anything.

3

Review Every Document With Melissa

Before you sign, Melissa walks through every section of your trust with you in plain language. No legal jargon. No confusion about what you are signing.

4

We Fund and Finalize Everything

We retitle your property, verify every account is correctly aligned with your trust, and make sure your successor trustee knows exactly what to do when the time comes.

Melissa Breyer

Georgia Estate Planning Attorney

Melissa Breyer is a Georgia estate planning attorney who works exclusively on trust-based estate planning and LLC formation. She personally designs every plan at The Hive Law and handles every client consultation herself. Every plan is built from scratch for your specific family, your specific assets, and your specific wishes.

After my father passed away, my mother had to rely on me and my brother for everything. Dad never set up a trust. It took over a year to sort through probate, and during that time, Mom couldn't access most of their money without our help. I promised myself I would never put my wife in that position. This firm set us up with a trust package that does exactly that. My wife is fully protected. She can access every account, manage every asset, and make every decision on her own from day one. No court involvement. No asking anyone for help. My wife said it's the first time she's felt confident about what would happen if I wasn't here. That alone was worth it.

Nicholas Google Review

My biggest fear was that if I died first, my wife would be stuck trying to figure everything out alone. We have accounts at multiple banks, a brokerage account, life insurance, and a house. We got our trust package done with this firm and that fear is gone. Everything is structured so that if something happens to me, she steps right in. No court. No waiting. She will be financially stable and fully in control from day one. They also helped us set up power of attorney and healthcare directives. If you're in the Atlanta area, don't wait.

Tristen Pursley Google Review

We had an outstanding experience working with Melissa Breyer to create our Living Trust. From start to finish, she was knowledgeable, professional, and incredibly easy to work with. She took the time to clearly explain every step of the process, answered all of our questions with patience, and made what could have been a complicated task feel straightforward and stress free. We are so grateful for her help and couldn't be happier with the outcome.

Scott Google Review

We highly recommend Hive Law. They were extremely patient and responsive, answering our many rounds of questions regarding trusts and estate planning. Shawn consistently responded the same day we sent our questions — even while his family was on vacation. Melissa was always available to discuss matters by phone whenever we needed additional clarification. Both are very knowledgeable in estate planning, and we would confidently recommend Hive Law to friends and family.

Daryl Clever Google Review

The Hive Law has been amazing throughout the process of setting up our trust. Every detail is considered and no stone is left unturned. They have been easy and enjoyable to work with. I would absolutely recommend them.

Christy Evans Google Review

The Hive Law made the entire estate planning and trust process clear, organized, and easy to understand. They took the time to explain everything in detail whether by email or over the phone. Their team was professional, responsive, and truly cared about helping us protect our family and assets. Melissa and Shawn are very nice, patient, and easy to talk to. I highly recommend The Hive Law to anyone looking for knowledgeable and trustworthy estate planning services.

Ofeliya Medzhidova Google Review

Frequently Asked Questions

Is it too late to do anything if my spouse is already in a nursing home?

It depends on where your spouse is in the process. Once someone is already approved for and receiving Medicaid, most planning options are closed. But if your spouse recently entered a facility and has not yet applied for Medicaid, there may still be options. Federal law also gives the healthy spouse specific protections including the right to keep up to $162,660 in assets that most families are not aware of. Call us and we will tell you honestly what is and is not possible given where you are.

Can’t I just give my house and savings to my children now?

You can but Georgia Medicaid will review those transfers and impose a penalty period that delays your eligibility. Any transfer made in the five years before you apply is subject to review. If you gave away assets during that period, Medicaid calculates how long you should have been able to pay for care using those assets. You do not qualify during that period, even if you have nothing left. The penalty can run for months or years. Medicaid planning uses legal tools that protect assets without triggering that penalty.

Will Medicaid take my house?

Not while you or your spouse is alive and living in it. Your home is exempt during the Medicaid application process. But Georgia is an estate recovery state. Georgia can place a lien on the property while the nursing home spouse is receiving Medicaid. When the surviving spouse needs to sell to downsize or cover their own care that lien is paid first from the proceeds. After both spouses pass, Georgia can also file a claim against the estate in probate. For most families, that claim comes out of the home’s equity. Medicaid planning done before the five-year review period closes can protect the home from both the lien and estate recovery.

I have too many assets to qualify. Is there anything I can do?

Yes. That is exactly what Medicaid planning is designed for. The $2,000 limit applies to what you have at the time of application not what you had five or ten years ago. The goal is to legally reposition your assets before you apply, using tools like irrevocable trusts and exempt asset strategies, so that what remains is either protected or not counted. The earlier you start, the more options you have.

What is the difference between Medicaid planning and just spending down?

Spending down means paying for care out of pocket until you reach the $2,000 limit. It is legal. It also means your family loses most or all of what you spent a lifetime building. Medicaid planning means legally repositioning those assets before you apply so they are protected. Your family keeps what you intended for them instead of writing checks to a nursing home until the money is gone.

How much does Medicaid planning cost?

Everything starts with a Family Protection Audit $500 for a 60-minute meeting with Melissa Breyer. That fee is credited in full toward your plan if you move forward. Medicaid planning packages start at $6,500. That covers the irrevocable trust, your incapacity documents, and the planning work to position you correctly before you apply. The cost of not planning is typically measured in hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Medicaid Planning Attorney in Georgia