Medicaid Planning Attorney
PROTECT YOUR SAVINGS, YOUR HOME, AND YOUR SPOUSE FROM THE COST OF CARE
A NURSING HOME SHOULDN'T COST YOUR FAMILY EVERYTHING YOU'VE SAVED
Nursing home care in Arkansas can run more than $6,000 a month. For most families, that number is frightening—because it means a lifetime of savings, and often the family home, can be gone in just a couple of years.
Here’s what many people don’t realize: you don’t have to lose all your money before Medicaid helps pay. The rules are strict, but they leave real room to protect assets for a spouse and family when you know how to use them. That’s Medicaid planning—and whether you’re in a crisis now or thinking years ahead, Law office of Charles J. Buchan PLLC helps you plan.
FIVE WAYS WE PROTECT WHAT YOUR FAMILY HAS BUILT
Every family’s situation is different, but Medicaid planning generally comes down to these. We’ll tell you exactly where you stand.
CRISIS PLANNING
A loved one needs care now, or is already in a facility, and the bills are mounting. Even at this late stage, there are legal steps that can protect a meaningful share of what's left.
PROACTIVE PLANNING
The best protection happens early. Arkansas uses a five-year look-back on transfers, so planning ahead opens up options that disappear once care is needed.
PROTECTING THE HEALTHY SPOUSE
When one spouse needs care and the other doesn't, the rules let the at-home spouse keep a share of income and assets. We make sure your husband or wife isn't left with nothing.
SAVING THE FAMILY HOME
The home is often a family's biggest worry. Used correctly and in time, there are legal tools that can help protect it from care costs or a later claim against the estate.
GETTING THE APPLICATION RIGHT
Medicaid applications get denied over small mistakes and missing documents all the time. We prepare and guide yours so it's done right the first time.
Answering Commonly Asked Medicaid Questions
DO WE HAVE TO SPEND EVERYTHING BEFORE MEDICAID HELPS?
This is the biggest myth out there. Arkansas Medicaid does set asset limits, but “spend down” doesn’t have to mean handing it all to a nursing home. With proper planning, much of what a family owns can often be legally protected. The key is getting advice before you start writing checks.
WHAT IS THE FIVE-YEAR LOOK-BACK?
When you apply for long-term care Medicaid, the state reviews the past five years of asset transfers. Gifts or transfers for less than fair value during that window can trigger a penalty period where you’re not eligible. Planning ahead—or knowing how to handle it in a crisis—makes all the difference.
MY PARENT IS ALREADY IN A NURSING HOME. IS IT TOO LATE TO PROTECT ANYTHING?
Usually not. A lot of families assume that once a parent is in care, the savings are simply gone to monthly bills until nothing’s left. But even at this stage, there are legal steps that can shield a portion of the remaining money or property instead of spending it all down. You’ll have fewer options than if you’d planned years earlier, but acting now almost always protects more than doing nothing. The sooner you call, the more of it can still be saved.
CAN'T I JUST GIVE MY ASSETS TO MY KIDS?
Please talk to someone before you do. Gifting can trigger the look-back penalty, create tax problems, and sometimes leave a family worse off than doing nothing. There are smarter, legal ways to protect assets—but a well-meaning gift at the wrong time can backfire badly.
CAN'T THE NURSING HOME OR DHS JUST HELP US APPLY?
They can help you fill out the form, but that’s not the same as protecting your family’s assets—that’s the part that’s nobody’s job but yours. An attorney looks at the whole picture, finds what can legally be preserved, and structures things in your favor before the application ever goes in.
Experience You Can Rely On
Medicaid’s rules are unforgiving, and the wrong move is expensive. Gift the house to a child, transfer money to the wrong account, or fill out the application incorrectly, and you can trigger a penalty that delays coverage for months—right when a family can least afford to keep paying out of pocket. Most people don’t find this out until it’s already cost them.
Chuck has practiced Arkansas law since 1992, and he knows where these cases go wrong because he’s spent decades keeping families out of those traps. He’ll tell you plainly what your situation allows, what it doesn’t, and what’s worth doing now—before a mistake closes off options you didn’t know you had.
You’ll get a flat fee settled before any work starts, and an attorney who still answers when you call with the next question. Medicaid planning isn’t a one-meeting transaction, and Chuck doesn’t treat it like one.
THE SOONER YOU PLAN, THE MORE YOU CAN PROTECT
Whether a loved one needs care today or you’re planning years ahead, the earlier we talk, the more we can do—and it’s rarely ever truly too late to help.
Contact us today for a free consultation, and let’s protect what you’ve worked a lifetime to build.