Butler County families usually find us the same way: someone told them nothing could be done, and they went looking for a second opinion.

Often there is a great deal that can be done — including for families whose loved one is already in a nursing home.

What is actually at stake

Missouri’s official figure for private-pay nursing home care is $8,235 a month, or $98,820 a year. That is the number that empties accounts, forces the sale of land, and turns a lifetime of careful saving into eighteen months of invoices.

The families who lose the most are almost never the wealthiest. They are the ones with a paid-off house, some ground, and enough in the bank to disqualify them from help but not enough to outlast the cost.

Already in the facility? You still have options.

The most expensive assumption in elder law is that the window closes on the day of admission. It does not. Medicaid crisis planning exists precisely for families whose loved one is already in a nursing home, and it is the majority of our practice.

Depending on the facts, a substantial share of what remains can often be protected — in many cases including the home, and sometimes farm ground. What cannot be undone is the private-pay spending that already left the account. That is the only real clock in this process.

If one spouse is still at home

Missouri performs a Division of Assets for married couples. The spouse who stays home may keep up to $162,660 in countable assets — not the $6,220.50 limit that applies to a single applicant — and is guaranteed a monthly income floor of $2,705, funded by redirecting income from the spouse in the facility.

See the current Missouri Medicaid figures →

Before you transfer anything

Missouri looks back five years at gifts and transfers. Whatever was given away is divided by $8,235, and that determines how many months the applicant is ineligible — a penalty that begins when they would otherwise have qualified, when the money is already gone and the property is no longer theirs.

Deeding the house or the land to a child is the most common version of this mistake. It also exposes the property to that child’s creditors, lawsuits, and divorce, and can create a tax bill no one anticipated.

If a transfer has already happened, talk to someone about it now rather than at the application. Options narrow as the five-year window runs.

Working with families from Poplar Bluff

Our office is in Cape Girardeau, and Butler County is roughly an hour and a half away. That distance matters less than families expect: most of a first conversation can be handled by phone, documents can be exchanged electronically, and we structure the work so nobody is making unnecessary trips while a parent is in a facility.

Butler County families we work with often have a loved one at Westwood Hills Health & Rehabilitation Center or Oakdale Care Center, among other facilities in the Poplar Bluff area.

Butler County probate matters are handled through the county’s circuit court in Poplar Bluff.

One thing worth saying plainly: we are not affiliated with any nursing facility. We represent families, not facilities. Our only obligation is to the family sitting across the table.

Families in this part of the state often reach us on a referral from another attorney. General practitioners handle plenty of law competently and still send Medicaid crisis cases elsewhere, because the rules change several times a year and the cost of getting them wrong is measured in tens of thousands of dollars.

What we handle — and what we do not

We do one thing deeply: protecting what Missouri families have spent a lifetime building. Medicaid crisis planning, asset-protection trusts, wills and trusts, and probate.

We do not handle divorce or family law, criminal defense, traffic, or personal injury. The Missouri Bar’s Find-a-Lawyer directory will point you to the right attorney faster than we could.

Find out where your family stands

Nine questions, about ninety seconds, nothing saved or sent to us. You will get a straight answer — including if that answer is that you do not need a lawyer.

Are we a fit? Take the 9-question assessment

Or call us directly: (573) 334-5125

This page is general information about Missouri Medicaid and nursing home planning, not legal advice, and reading it does not make you a client of the Law Office of Mark McMullin. Every family’s circumstances differ, and the rules change several times a year. Please speak with an elder law attorney before making decisions about your assets.