The Estate & Asset Protection Law Firm Owner, Shannon Pawley, encourages planning for long-term healthcare sooner rather than later to avoid depleting one’s savings and assets.

DECATUR, GA, February 1, 2023: Shannon Pawley, Owner of The Estate & Asset Protection Law Firm, has posted a new blog on the law firm’s website entitled “Miller Trusts / Qualified Income Trusts,” in which Ms. Pawley provides an overview of this helpful tool.

According to Pawley, “Far too many people get caught late in life draining their savings and assets providing for long-term healthcare when they have not appropriately planned for this eventuality.” She continues, “Some people think that Medicare will pay, and others think that Medicaid will pay. The fact is if you want Medicaid to pay, and they will, you must plan ahead.” She elaborates, “You have to apply for and be approved for Medicaid. Another point most people don’t realize until it’s too late is that many people exceed the income limits to qualify for Medicaid and they don’t know that there are legal ways to qualify and be approved.”

Pawley notes, “This is just one area that is typically covered in Estate and Asset Protection planning. It’s heartbreaking to me when I see people come to me after their assets have been drained and they literally have nothing left.”

“A Miller Trust,” Pawley explains, “also known as a Medicaid Qualified Income Trust (QIT) is one of the most common strategies utilized when an applicant is over the qualifying income limit to be deemed eligible for Medicaid.” Pawley elaborates, “The Georgia Medicaid Income Limit for 2023 is $2,742.00. When a Medicaid applicant’s gross income exceeds the monthly Medicaid income cap, which changes from year to year and is currently around $2,700.00 per month, it is necessary to establish a Miller Trust. At a minimum, each month the amount of gross income that exceeds the Medicaid Income Limit should be transferred to the Miller Trust. The expectation is that the funds in the Miller Trust will be transferred out the same month of receipt for the applicant’s personal pay liability under the Medicaid Program or for other medical services/expenses. There is no need for Miller Trust if the applicant’s income is below the limit.”

The entire blog can be read at LINK HERE

About The Estate & Asset Protection Law Firm

The Estate & Asset Protection Law Firm was established to serve the legal needs of retiring citizens. The Firm focuses its entire practice on providing strategies to protect independence, privacy, assets and taxes from the government. Shannon Pawley has grown her law practice by providing excellent customer satisfaction with personalized wealth protection plans.

About Shannon M. Pawley, J.D., LL.M

As the owner of The Estate & Asset Protection Law Firm, Shannon M. Pawley and her entire team share a passion which focuses on being able to serve the legal needs of retiring individuals. In our firm, WE BELIEVE that people should not have to lose everything they’ve worked a lifetime to earn and that every person is an individual who deserves respect and the highest quality of life possible, regardless of age or ability. We also believe that privacy and protection are the keys to personal peace. Born and raised in the Tidewater area of Virginia to a tightknit family with strong military service roots, Shannon learned from an early age the value of hard work and the importance of social awareness to ensure you always leave a situation in a better place than how you entered it. In her junior year of high school, Shannon served as U.S. House of Representatives Page during the 101st United States Congressional Session in Washington, D.C. This experience exposed her to numerous new cultures and worldly issues. Walking away from her experience as a U.S. House of Representative Page, Shannon knew that she wanted to pursue legal studies and be able to assist others in obtaining the best results available in difficult situations.

Shannon earned her undergraduate degree at North Carolina Wesleyan College and pursued a law degree from Michigan State University College of Law. After obtaining her law degree and becoming a licensed attorney in Michigan, she continued her educational pursuit by acquiring a LL.M. (Master of Law) in Taxation from Wayne State University. After moving to Georgia in 2018, Shannon obtained her Georgia law license and has enjoyed being able to pursue her desire of ensuring persons are able to age with dignity, grace and independence.