In New York it is true that you don’t have to use an attorney to prepare a Medicaid application. In fact, you can do it yourself. But remember that the law has many nuances and intricacies. Imagine having a nursing home prepare and submit your parent’s Medicaid application, and it is approved. But after parent’s death, you find out that a lien has been placed on your parent’s house in the amount of the benefits which Medicaid paid out for your parent. Nobody advised you that the house could have been protected under the law under one of the Medicaid exceptions to the transfer of assets rules. While someone who works for a nursing home may have the best interests of the nursing home in mind while preparing your Medicaid application, an attorney that you hire to represent you has an ethical duty to advocate for you and your interests.
Furthermore, while it is legal for the nursing home, or a non-attorney Medicaid expediter assist you with your Medicaid application, they are not authorized by law to give you legal advice to maximize the protection of your assets in the process of accessing Medicaid benefits. Having an attorney advise you how to best protect your assets, using different techniques and exceptions to the transfer of assets rules, may ultimately result in savings exponentially greater than the attorney’s fee. And vice versa, failure to use the assistance of an attorney can potentially have results to the opposite effect.
