Medicaid Planning
Medicaid Planning and Asset Protection in Alabama and Texas
Medicaid planning is the legal work of restructuring assets and income so that long-term care can be paid by Medicaid without a family spending its savings and home equity first. The main tools are the Medicaid Asset Protection Trust, used when planning more than five years ahead, and the Qualified Income Trust, used when monthly income exceeds the Medicaid cap. The Robinson Advocacy Group handles both in Alabama and Texas, with fees published openly below.
Nursing home care in Alabama and Texas commonly runs $7,000 to $10,000 or more per month. Without a plan, that cost lands on savings and the house.
What is the Medicaid five-year lookback?
When you apply for long-term care Medicaid, the agency reviews asset transfers from the previous five years and can impose a penalty period of ineligibility for gifts or below-value transfers found in that window. This is the single most important date in Medicaid planning, and it is why the common instinct — deeding the house to a child to “protect” it — so often creates the exact problem it was meant to avoid.
Planning completed more than five years before care is needed generally sits outside the lookback entirely. Planning done during a health crisis relies on a narrower set of legal strategies, which still work but protect less.
What is a Medicaid Asset Protection Trust (MAPT)?
A Medicaid Asset Protection Trust is an irrevocable trust that moves assets such as a home or savings out of your countable estate, so they are protected if you later need Medicaid-funded long-term care. Because of the five-year lookback, a MAPT is a plan-ahead tool rather than a crisis tool, and it is permanent by design — once assets go in, you give up direct control in exchange for protection.
That trade-off is exactly why a MAPT should be designed with an attorney alongside the rest of your estate plan, not bought as a standalone document.
What is a Qualified Income Trust (Miller Trust)?
A Qualified Income Trust — also called a Miller Trust — lets someone whose monthly income is above the Medicaid income cap still qualify for long-term care benefits by directing the excess income into a restricted trust account each month. Alabama and Texas both apply an income cap for long-term care Medicaid, so a QIT is frequently required when Social Security and pension income together exceed the limit.
A QIT has to be drafted correctly and then administered every single month — deposits made, permitted expenses paid, records kept. Missed months put eligibility at risk, which is why the firm offers packages that include ongoing administration.
Can assets still be protected during a crisis?
Yes — crisis Medicaid planning can often protect a meaningful portion of assets even after a loved one has entered a nursing home, though options are narrower than planning ahead. Depending on the situation, strategies may include a Qualified Income Trust, protections for a healthy spouse's income and residence, exempt transfers, and properly structured spend-down on permitted items such as home repairs, a vehicle, or prepaid funeral arrangements.
Speed matters. Every month of private-pay care is money that cannot be recovered.
Will Medicaid take my house?
Medicaid does not take your home while you live in it, but after death the state can seek repayment from your estate through Medicaid estate recovery — and the home is usually the largest exposed asset. Whether it is protected depends on how the home is titled, whether a spouse or dependent relative lives there, and whether it was moved into the right kind of trust in time.
Medicaid planning fees
The Robinson Advocacy Group publishes flat fees for Medicaid planning so families can compare honestly before committing.
| Service | Flat fee | What it covers |
|---|---|---|
| Medicaid eligibility assessment | $50 | 30-minute attorney consultation and written recommendation |
| Asset protection letter | $1,500 | Written strategy for protecting the home, savings, and income |
| Qualified Income Trust — Essential | $1,500 | QIT establishment, basic documentation, initial Medicaid coordination |
| Qualified Income Trust — Premium | $3,500 | Comprehensive documentation, ongoing coordination, asset review |
| Qualified Income Trust — Comprehensive | $7,500+ | Full administration, application support, compliance monitoring |
| Crisis Medicaid planning — full implementation | $10,000–$15,000 | Accelerated strategy when care is already needed |
Medicaid income and asset limits are set by each state and change annually. The firm confirms the current figures that apply to your situation during your assessment rather than publishing numbers that go stale.
Who should look at Medicaid planning now
- Adults 55 and older who want to protect a home and savings before there is a crisis
- Families where a parent has just received a dementia or Alzheimer's diagnosis
- Spouses who need to preserve income and keep the family home
- Families with a loved one entering or already in a care facility
- Anyone who has been told they have "too much money" to qualify for Medicaid
- Adult children who have been asked to take title to a parent's house
How the firm handles Medicaid planning
1. Eligibility assessment ($50)
A 30-minute attorney consultation reviewing income, assets, titling, and care needs, ending in a clear recommendation and a flat fee for the work.
2. Written strategy
An asset protection letter setting out what is protected, what is exposed, what to transfer, and in what order.
3. Implementation
Drafting and funding the trust, retitling assets, and preparing what the Medicaid application will require.
4. Ongoing administration
For QIT clients, monthly administration and compliance monitoring so eligibility is not lost on a paperwork technicality.
Where the firm practices
Medicaid rules are state-specific. Attorney Gregory Robinson handles Alabama matters and Attorney Hector W.D. Faulk handles Texas matters, both statewide and both by virtual consultation. See the attorneys' backgrounds.
Last reviewed September 2026 by Attorney Gregory Robinson. General information about Medicaid planning in Alabama and Texas — not legal advice, and not a guarantee of eligibility or outcome. Medicaid rules, income caps, and asset limits change; confirm current figures for your situation with an attorney.