Elder Law

PA Specific

4.0

Protecting Assets While Qualifying for Medicaid in Pennsylvania

Credits Available
Credit Status Total
New Jersey CLE Approved 7.2 Total
New York CLE Approved 7 Total
Pennsylvania CLE Approved 6 Total
OnDemand
5 hours 53 minutes
Colleen Bratkovich
LeeAnn Syme
Patti Spencer
James Koewler
With Colleen D. Bratkovich from Zacharia Brown + 3 others
Recorded December 10, 2025.
Product ID 101011

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Overview

Get the Latest on Medicaid Application and Asset Planning Tactics

Middle class Americans seeking asset protection cannot afford to ignore the potentially devastating costs of nursing home and other long-term care. Nursing homes are among the most common and largest creditors an average American is likely to face in his or her lifetime, but only about 10% of the population has long-term care insurance. For the other 90%, Medicaid is the primary source of payment, so a basic understanding of the Medicaid asset protection process is vital for all professionals who work with seniors and their families. This course will provide an overview of asset protection concepts and strategies that elder law attorneys can use to legally and ethically protect assets while facilitating earlier Medicaid eligibility; and a set of crisis-management tools to prevent and correct inadvertent loss of benefits. Register today!

  • Learn what the income eligibility requirements are when applying for Medicaid.
  • Protect your clients' interests by knowing what's exempt and what's not.
  • Employ the most practical and effective asset transfer methods to comply with the spend-down requirement.
  • Explore crisis planning methods to restore Medicaid benefits as quickly as possible.
  • Guide clients through the Medicaid qualification process by knowing what's involved.

Abbreviated Agenda

  1. Applying for Medicaid - The Four Eligibility Requirements
  2. Pre-Need Asset Planning
  3. Crisis Planning and Assistance
  4. Applied Legal Ethics
  5. Using Special Needs Trusts - Sample Trust Review
  6. Trust-Based Medicaid Planning in Detail

Related Topics

Product ID 101011

Credit Details

Credits Available
Credit Status Total
New Jersey CLE Approved 7.2 Total
New York CLE Approved 7 Total
Pennsylvania CLE Approved 6 Total
Select Jurisdiction
CLE

Agenda

All times are shown in

  1. Applying for Medicaid - The Four Eligibility Requirements

    1. Medical Eligibility: The Needs Assessment
    2. Resource Eligibility: Exempt vs. Countable Assets
    3. Income Eligibility
    4. Transfer Eligibility
      1. The Lookback Periods
      2. Transfers and Penalty Periods
        1. Transfer Penalty
        2. Penalty Beginning Date
        3. Partial Months of Ineligibility
        4. Monthly Maintenance Need Allowance (MMMNA) for the Community Spouse
        5. Annuity Transfer Rules and Tactics
    5. Estate Recovery Rules
    6. Current Medicaid Planning Programs and Rules

  2. Pre-Need Asset Planning

    1. Medicaid Planning for Single vs. Married Applicants
    2. Transferring Real Property Without Jeopardizing Medicaid Eligibility
      1. When Does the Home Become a Countable Asset?
      2. How is "Intent to Return Home" Interpreted?
      3. Titling of the Home and Basic Homestead Issues in a Medicaid Planning Context
    3. Life Estates
    4. Asset Valuation - Fair Market Value under DRA
    5. Using Life Insurance to Spend Down
    6. Interstate Transfers
    7. Protecting Veterans Benefits
    8. The Gifting Powers in Powers of Attorney

  3. Crisis Planning and Assistance

    1. Asset Purchase Strategies Available
      1. Purchases
      2. Payments
    2. Asset Transfer Strategies Available
      1. How to Transfer Residence to Caregiver Child
      2. How to Transfer Residence to Sibling With Equity Interest Who's Resided There for at Least One Year
      3. How to Transfer Residence Subject to Life Estate
      4. How to Transfer Residence Subject to Occupancy Agreement
      5. Caregiver Agreement Between Parent and Child
    3. Contesting/Appealing the Penalty Period Dates and Other Adverse Medicaid Decisions

  4. Applied Legal Ethics

    1. Avoiding Conflicts of Interest (Who is Your Client?)
    2. Dealing With Clients' Diminishing Mental Capacity
    3. Spotting and Preventing Elder Abuse
    4. Appropriate Client Communications
    5. Navigating Through Family Conflict
    6. Setting and Collecting Attorney Fees

  5. Using Special Needs Trusts - Sample Trust Review

    1. When Can SNTs be Used?
    2. Drafting an SNT - Common Mistakes to Avoid
    3. Documenting the Assets Transfer into the Trust
    4. Choosing a Suitable Trustee
    5. Sample Special Needs Trust Document Review

  6. Trust-Based Medicaid Planning in Detail

    1. Choosing the Assets for Funding the Trusts
    2. Key Provisions and Sample Trust Language
    3. Self-Settled Trusts and Their Impact on Eligibility
    4. Using Income-Only Trusts
      1. Purpose of Using IOTs
      2. Principal Distribution Provision
      3. Taxation of IOTs
        1. Income Taxation and Tax Reporting
        2. Gift Tax and Reporting

Who Should Attend

This basic level online seminar is designed for:

  • Attorneys
  • Nursing Home Administrators
  • Social Workers
  • Geriatric Care Managers
  • Trust Officers
  • Accountants and CPAs
  • Estate and Financial Planners
  • Paralegals

Speakers

Colleen D Bratkovich
Colleen D.
Bratkovich
Zacharia Brown
LeeAnn G Syme
LeeAnn G.
Syme
John W. Giltinan, Esq., P.C.
Patti S Spencer
Patti S.
Spencer
Spencer Law Firm LLC
James L Koewler Jr.
James L.
Koewler, Jr.
The Koewler Law Firm
Speaker bio
Colleen D Bratkovich

Colleen D. Bratkovich

Zacharia Brown
Colleen Bratkovich

is an attorney at Zacharia Brown, and practices in the areas of Medicaid planning and eligibility, veterans' benefits, and related estate planning and estate administration issues. She is admitted to practice law in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and before the Pennsylvania Supreme Court. Ms. Bratkovich is also accredited by the Veteran's Administration to represent veterans in their claims before the department. She earned her undergraduate degree from the Pennsylvania State University and her law degree from Duquesne University. Ms. Bratkovich is a member of NAELA and PAELA.

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Speaker bio
LeeAnn G Syme

LeeAnn G. Syme

John W. Giltinan, Esq., P.C.
LeeAnn Syme

is an attorney with John W. Giltinan, Esq., P.C., and practices in the areas of elder law, estate and trust planning, special needs planning, and estate and trust administration. Ms. Syme earned her undergraduate degree from the University of Pittsburgh and her J.D. degree from Duquesne University, where she was a member of the Duquesne Law Review.

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Speaker bio
Patti S Spencer

Patti S. Spencer

Spencer Law Firm LLC
Patti Spencer

is an attorney with Metzger and Spencer, LLP and Spencer Law Firm LLC in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, where she provides experience and depth in estate planning, trust and estate administration, complex tax consulting, charitable gift planning, wealth transfer vehicles and retirement plan consulting, and expert witness testimony. Ms. Spencer taught estate and gift tax for eight years as an adjunct professor at Boston University in the LL.M. program, and also was a former professor of trusts and estates at Boston University School of Law. In addition, she has spoken numerous times on topics related to her areas of expertise. Ms. Spencer is the author of a weekly column Taxing Matters, which appeared in the Lancaster Intelligencer Journal's Business Monday Section for 14 years. She also has written Pennsylvania Estate Planning, Wills and Trusts Library: Forms and Practice Manual, Data Trace, which is updated annually. Ms. Spencer earned her B.A. degree from Dickinson College, her J.D. degree from Boston University and her LL.M. degree from Boston University. She is a fellow of the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel.

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Speaker bio
James L Koewler Jr.

James L. Koewler, Jr.

The Koewler Law Firm
James Koewler

is the founder of The Koewler Law Firm, where his main areas of practice include elder law, special needs and Medicaid planning, and veterans disability. He is a member of the Ohio State, American, Cleveland Metropolitan and Akron bar associations. Mr. Koewler is a member of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys, and the Life Care Planning Law Firms Association. He earned his B.S. degree from Purdue University and his J.D. degree from Indiana University.

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