Elder Law
Medicaid Planning Attorney in Georgia
There is a legal way to qualify for Medicaid without spending your assets down to $2,000 first.
How Georgia Families Protect Assets From Medicaid Spend-Down Before It Is Too Late
Georgia Medicaid requires you to reduce most countable assets to $2,000 before the state pays for nursing home care — without a plan, a lifetime of savings can be gone in 18 months. Medicaid planning uses legal tools including trusts, annuities, and exempt asset conversions to protect your home and savings while qualifying for benefits. The five-year lookback means the time to plan is years before a crisis, not after.
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.
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:
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
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
A 15-Minute Call With Shawn
Tell us what is going on with your family. Shawn walks you through your options and what each one costs. Free.
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.
Review Every Document With Melissa
Before you sign, Melissa walks through every document with you in plain language. No legal jargon. No confusion about what you are signing.
Your Plan Is Complete
Melissa delivers your completed documents and explains exactly what your family needs to do. You leave knowing your plan is in place and your family is protected.
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.
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What Our Clients Say
After my father passed away, my mother had to rely on my father's employer to navigate the estate. It was a disaster. After this experience, I knew I needed a plan. I turned to The Hive Law to set up a trust. I no longer have to worry about my wife and children going through a difficult process if something happens to me. I highly recommend The Hive Law!
My biggest fear was that if I died first, my wife would have no idea how to navigate the estate and legal system. I reached out to The Hive Law and they put my mind at ease immediately. Their process is easy to follow and they took care of everything. The Hive Law is the best decision I've made for my family's future.
Working with Melissa Breyer to set up our Living Trust was a wonderful experience. She and her entire team were knowledgeable, professional, and made the whole process easy to understand. I highly recommend The Hive Law for all your estate planning needs!
We highly recommend Hive Law. They were extremely helpful and professional in guiding us through the process of creating a Revocable Living Trust. Melissa and Shawn were thorough, answered all our questions, and made a potentially confusing process easy to understand.
The Hive Law made the entire estate planning and trust process easy to understand and stress-free. Melissa and Shawn walked us through every step and answered all of our questions. We feel confident that our family is protected. Highly recommend!
My mom chose The Hive firm to help with estate planning after my father passed away. They were very thorough in explaining every step of the process. They made a difficult time much easier to navigate. I highly recommend The Hive Law for anyone needing estate planning services.
I used The Hive Law to help me create a trust for my family. The process was straightforward and Melissa and Shawn made sure I understood each step. They were responsive to all of my questions. I feel much more confident about my family's future now. Highly recommend!
Working with Shawn and Melissa at The Hive Law has been a great experience. They are very knowledgeable and took the time to explain all of our options. They made the process of setting up a trust simple and stress-free. I would highly recommend them to anyone needing estate planning.
The Hive Law Firm, and specifically Melissa, has been wonderful to work with during our estate planning process. She is knowledgeable, patient, and thorough. She answered all of our questions and made the process easy to understand. I highly recommend The Hive Law!
Shawn and Melissa were amazing to work with! My partner and I recently bought a house and wanted to get important things like wills, healthcare directives, etc. set up. They were incredible at answering all our questions and working with us to make sure we felt confident in all of the legal aspects. Having tried to do this online before with one of the DIY tools, it was just an amazing experience to get to talk through what we wanted with a knowledgeable human and have them take care of the details.
Hive Law was awesome to work with! Melissa and Shawn explained everything, kept things stress-free, and were always quick to respond to my questions. They made the whole process simple and smooth from start to finish. Highly recommend if you want a team that's knowledgeable but also easy to work with.
I lost my father in February of this year without any estate planning in place. The process of dealing with the probate court has been overwhelming and expensive. After this experience, I contacted The Hive Law to set up a trust so my children never have to go through what I've been through. Melissa and Shawn were compassionate, knowledgeable, and made the entire process simple. I highly recommend The Hive Law!
I used to know the bare minimum about probate and trust. I first encountered Shawn Breyer on Facebook. He was offering a webinar that I watched. That gave me a better understanding of probate versus trust. I was impressed enough to have him and his wife represent me. I had my initial one on one interview with Melissa Breyer, it went smoothly and she made everything clear. We are now proceeding with getting a revocable trust in place.
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! Don't let your estate be turned over to Probate!!
Frequently Asked Questions
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Stop carrying this around.
A conversation with Shawn. You'll walk away knowing what your family needs and what it costs. That's it.
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