Elder Law Services

Medicaid Asset Protection Trust Attorney in Atlanta, Georgia

A Medicaid Asset Protection Trust removes your home and savings from your countable estate so Georgia Medicaid cannot require you to spend them on nursing home care.

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What Is a Medicaid Asset Protection Trust

A Medicaid Asset Protection Trust (MAPT) is an irrevocable trust designed to protect your home and savings from Medicaid spend-down requirements. Assets transferred into the trust become non-countable for Medicaid eligibility after Georgia's five-year lookback period — protecting them from being spent on nursing home care while allowing them to pass to your family at death.

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Georgia Medicaid requires a single applicant to have no more than $2,000 in countable assets to qualify for long-term care benefits. That means everything above $2,000 — savings, investment accounts, a second home — must be spent on nursing home care before Medicaid pays anything.

For a family that has spent decades building savings, this spend-down requirement can wipe out an inheritance in months. A nursing home that costs $9,000 per month depletes $108,000 in a single year.

The Medicaid Asset Protection Trust solves this problem by removing assets from your countable estate. Assets transferred into the MAPT are no longer in your name. After the five-year lookback period — during which Medicaid reviews all asset transfers — those assets are fully protected from the spend-down requirement.

The MAPT requires advance planning. It cannot protect assets that are transferred within five years of applying for Medicaid. A family that waits until a health crisis to start planning has far fewer options than a family that acts at 60 or 65 while they are healthy.

5 year lookback period before MAPT assets are fully protected
$9,000+ average monthly nursing home cost in Georgia
$2,000 maximum countable assets allowed for Georgia Medicaid

How a Medicaid Asset Protection Trust Works

You transfer your home and savings into the MAPT. You name an independent trustee — typically an adult child — to manage the trust. You remain in your home and can receive income from trust assets, but you no longer own them outright.

Because you no longer own the assets, Georgia Medicaid does not count them when determining your eligibility — after the five-year lookback period has passed. When you die, the assets in the trust pass to your named beneficiaries without going through probate and without being subject to Medicaid estate recovery.

What You Give Up

You give up ownership of the assets. Once transferred into the MAPT, you cannot take assets back. You cannot sell the home and pocket the proceeds. You cannot change the beneficiaries. The trust is irrevocable — that permanence is the source of the protection.

You give up principal access. You can receive income generated by trust assets — interest, dividends, rental income. You cannot access the principal itself. If you need a large lump sum for an unexpected expense, the trust cannot provide it.

You retain the right to live in your home. A properly drafted MAPT preserves your right to occupy your home for the rest of your life. You are not forced to move.

What the MAPT Protects Against

Medicaid spend-down. The primary purpose. After five years, trust assets are not counted toward Medicaid eligibility. You can qualify for benefits without depleting everything you saved.

Medicaid estate recovery. Georgia’s Medicaid Estate Recovery Program places liens on a deceased Medicaid recipient’s estate to recover benefits paid. Assets held in a properly structured MAPT pass to beneficiaries outside the estate — beyond the reach of estate recovery.

Probate. Assets in the MAPT pass to your beneficiaries at death without going through probate court. The trustee distributes them directly according to the trust document.

The Five-Year Clock

The single most important fact about a MAPT: the five-year clock starts on the date you transfer assets into the trust, not the date you need care. If you transfer your home today and need nursing home care in four years, the assets are not yet protected — Medicaid will impose a penalty period based on the value of the transfer.

This is why Melissa Breyer encourages families to have this conversation as early as possible. The earlier the trust is funded, the more time the clock has to run. Waiting for a health event means losing the option entirely.

Without a Trust

  • Savings must be spent down to $2,000 before Medicaid pays
  • Home subject to Medicaid estate recovery lien after death
  • Assets pass through probate before reaching your family
  • Nursing home costs deplete decades of savings in months
  • No protection if planning waits until care is needed

With a Trust

  • Trust assets non-countable for Medicaid after five-year lookback
  • Home protected from estate recovery in properly structured MAPT
  • Assets pass to family at death without probate
  • Savings preserved for your family while Medicaid covers care
  • Five-year clock starts the day the trust is funded

How It Works

1

Schedule Your Free Call

Book your 60-minute free strategy call with Melissa. Credited toward your estate plan.

2

Meet With Melissa

Melissa reviews your assets, your family situation, and your exposure. Virtual or in-person.

3

Get Your Plan

Receive a written plan with clear recommendations for protecting your family and your assets.

4

Move Forward

No pressure, no commitment required. Move forward when you are ready.

Melissa Breyer

Georgia Estate Planning Attorney

Frequently Asked Questions

Yes. A properly drafted MAPT preserves your right to live in your home for the rest of your life. You are not required to move, and Medicaid cannot force you out of your home while you are alive. The protection applies to what happens after your death — the MAPT prevents Medicaid from placing a recovery lien on the home through the estate.
The assets in the trust pass directly to your named beneficiaries according to the trust document. Because they are held in the trust and not in your name, they do not go through probate and are not subject to Medicaid estate recovery. Your trustee distributes them to your beneficiaries promptly after your death.
No. IRAs and 401(k)s cannot be transferred directly into a trust without triggering income tax on the full value of the account — effectively destroying the tax deferral. These retirement accounts require different planning strategies. Melissa Breyer addresses retirement accounts separately as part of a complete elder law plan.
The trustee — not you — has the legal authority to sell the home. The proceeds of the sale go into the trust and remain protected. You retain the right to use the proceeds to purchase another home, which would also be held in the trust. You do not receive the proceeds directly, as that would convert them back into countable assets.
A revocable living trust keeps you in full control — you can change or dissolve it at any time. For that reason, Medicaid treats assets in a revocable trust as if they are still yours. A MAPT is irrevocable — you cannot change it or take assets back. That loss of control is what makes the assets non-countable for Medicaid purposes after the five-year lookback period.

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