The skilled nursing facilities have nothing to do with assets or Medicaid recovery.  In Colorado, your house is not a countable asset
for purposes of Medicaid qualification up to a value of $530,000.00.  There are two scenarios you have to consider when doing 
Medicaid planning; the spouse of the person going into long term care still living in the house, or; the person going into a skilled 
facility is unmarried.

Under the first scenario, the spouse (called the Community Spouse) will retain possession of the home without estate recovery.  
There are also rules about assets that may be transferred to the Community Spouse without penalty. 

If the person who needs skilled care has no spouse at home, the house is not included as an asset if the person intends to return home.
  This does not mean that the elderly person can or will return home, but rather that they intend to return home.  This intent 
precludes the home from being an asset for the purposes of Medicaid qualification, but does not protect it from estate recovery by 
Medicaid after the person passes away.

 There are other methods of protecting the home from estate recovery if planning is completed early enough or in special 
circumstances, such as a disabled child or adult child caregiver.  You need to contact a qualified elder law attorney who is familiar
with all state and federal regulations in order to plan before the crisis occurs.

With proper planning, you can retain your home through out your life and leave the asset to your children. We all believe we are going to live forever. But we need to plan now for the next five years in order to be sure that our estate is protected in the manner in which we want to leave it to our family.

Want to know more about Medicaid in Colorado? Go to my web site - www.zaporelderlaw.com - and download my book - Medicaid Myths and Mistakes.