You know you should do your estate planning. You know it’s important to protect your assets. You hear it on the radio, from friends, at church, in the AARP magazine. You’ll do it…but it’s snowing out, it’s raining out, the summer’s here, the holidays are coming, etc. Before you realize it, another year has passed. You have what I call, “tomorrowitis.”

The symptoms include but are not limited to, the ability to procrastinate, illogical reasoning that you’ll actually do it tomorrow, mental paralysis due to anxiety about not having your affairs in order, and the belief that you’ll never have to go to a nursing home. There are remedies to this condition that will give you peace of mind. A check-up with an elder law attorney should be your first course of action. Don’t worry; it’ll be a painless visit.

If you think you have tomorrowitis or know of someone who suffers from this condition consider the following:

1. The cost of a nursing home can be $8,000 to $12,000 per month.
2. In Massachusetts a lien may be placed on the home to recover any nursing home costs.
3. There is a full 60 month look-back period when applying for MassHealth (Medicaid). When an application is submitted to MassHealth, any transfer of resources or assets are investigated for the prior 5 years. This is referred to as the “look-back period.”
4. In order to qualify for MassHealth coverage of nursing home care, countable assets must be under a certain limit.  For a single individual, that limit is $2,000.00.

The best medicine for tomorrowitis is to consult a Medicaid planning attorney. Have your situation looked at and with proper care, you won’t end up in the emergency room in crisis.