Protecting Your Legacy: Estate Planning with Title 19 in Eastern Connecticut

By Attorney Samantha L. Graves

When planning for your family’s future, understanding Title 19 (Medicaid) can be the difference between preserving your life’s work and watching it disappear to nursing home costs. Without proper planning strategies in place, the home will be used to reimburse Medicaid for providing care rather than going to family as inheritance.

What Is Title 19 Estate Planning?

Title 19, commonly known as Medicaid, is a needs-based program for individuals who are 65 years of age or older, or disabled, and who lack sufficient income and assets to pay for their long-term medical care and treatment. In Connecticut, this program becomes essential when traditional Medicare doesn’t cover the long-term care you or your loved ones may need.

Medicaid’s strict asset and income limits, and transfer-of-asset rules, can jeopardize your life’s savings. However, with proper planning, you can protect assets while still qualifying for the care coverage your family needs.

The Five-Year Lookback Rule: Why Planning Early Matters

One of the most crucial aspects of Title 19 planning is understanding Connecticut’s five-year lookback period. Medicaid looks at your transactions and transfers of money or assets over the five years before you applied for Medicaid coverage. If you transferred assets by giving them away or charging a lot less than market value, Medicaid disqualifies you from getting benefits.

If you can work with a Connecticut Medicaid planning lawyer five or more years before the time that nursing home care is actually needed, the Medicaid five-year lookback period won’t affect you. This is why it’s critical to begin planning early.

Asset Protection Strategies That Work in Connecticut

Exempt Assets You Can Keep

Not all assets count against Medicaid’s strict limits. Exemptions include personal belongings, such as clothing, household furnishings, an automobile, a burial plot, an irrevocable prepaid funeral contract (limited to $10,000 in 2025), term life insurance with no cash surrender value, and generally one’s primary home.

Spousal Protection Options

For married couples in eastern Connecticut communities, Connecticut’s spousal impoverishment rules provide important protections. Spousal Impoverishment Rules, however, permit the non-applicant spouse of a Medicaid nursing home or Waiver applicant a Community Spouse Resource Allowance (CSRA). If you are married, the rules provide some basic asset protection for the healthy spouse, including a house, car and half of your total assets with a cap of $154,140 (as of 2024). The spouse may keep a maximum of $3,853.50 in income per month.

Trust and Estate Planning Tools

You can protect your assets through transfers, trusts, annuities, and converting exposed assets to exempt assets, if you comply with specific rules. These sophisticated strategies require expertise in Connecticut’s specific Medicaid laws and careful timing to be effective.

Connecticut Home Care Program: Staying Home Longer

Many eastern Connecticut residents don’t realize they have options beyond nursing home care. The Connecticut Home Care Program for Elders (CHCPE) enables eligible individuals to stay at home instead of going into a nursing facility. The services offered may include home health services, homemaker services, visiting nurse services, adult day care center services, care management services, home-delivered meals, companion services, personal care attendant services, emergency response services, and minor home modifications.

Why Professional Guidance Is Essential

Medicaid planning on your own, or with someone who is not a qualified elder law attorney, could result in your losing the assets you tried so hard to protect. Connecticut’s Title 19 rules are complex and frequently changing, requiring specialized knowledge of both federal and state regulations.

Many people incorrectly assume that once they are faced with the fact that a family member must enter a long-term care facility, it is too late to take measures that will help preserve family assets. While it’s true that the earlier you plan, the more options you have, assistance may be available even if your family’s need for long-term care is immediate.

Taking Action in Eastern Connecticut

For families in Colchester, Lebanon, Norwich, and surrounding communities, Title 19 planning shouldn’t be an afterthought – it should be an integral part of your comprehensive estate plan. The combination of Connecticut’s aging population, rising healthcare costs, and Medicaid’s strict eligibility requirements makes early planning more important than ever.

The goals of Medicaid planning are to establish eligibility for the applicant in the appropriate Medicaid program, while, at the same time, preserving the maximum amount of income and assets for other family members as permitted by law.

Whether you’re just beginning to think about long-term care possibilities or facing more immediate needs, experienced legal guidance can help you navigate Connecticut’s Title 19 requirements while protecting the legacy you’ve worked so hard to build. The peace of mind that comes with proper planning – knowing your family’s future is secure regardless of what health challenges may arise – is invaluable.

Ready to take action on Title 19 Planning? Our experienced team provides sophisticated elder law and Title 19 planning that protects your assets and provides peace of mind. Our team combines deep knowledge of Connecticut’s Medicaid regulations with personalized, compassionate service that puts your family’s needs first.

Contact The Prue Law Group today at (860) 423-9231 to schedule your elder law consultation. Let us help you prepare for Medicaid eligibility while protecting your assets and ensuring your family’s financial security.

The Prue Law Group has served eastern and central Connecticut since 1980, providing comprehensive estate planning, probate, and elder law services. Our team’s deep local knowledge and specialized expertise help families protect what matters most.