The Law Offices of Roman Aminov has been providing NYC residents with award-winning Medicaid planning and asset protection services tailored to our clients' needs.
Celebrated for extensive experience helping New York families shield their homes and savings from long-term care costs while preserving Medicaid eligibility, with hundreds of heartfelt client testimonials, Roman Aminov delivers thoughtful, individualized solutions to our clients' needs and wishes.
By Roman Aminov,
Long-term care in New York is staggeringly expensive. Nursing home costs in 2026 routinely exceed $15,000 per month across the five boroughs, and home care isn't far behind. Most families simply cannot absorb those figures out of pocket for more than a year or two. Medicaid exists to bridge that gap, but qualifying for it means meeting strict financial limits. In 2026, a single nursing home applicant in New York can hold no more than roughly $33,038 in countable assets. Without a plan in place, families are forced to spend down everything they've built just to access the benefits they need.
We work with New York families every day to prevent exactly that outcome. Our approach begins with understanding your full financial picture and building a strategy that protects your home, your savings, and your family's inheritance before a health crisis forces your hand.
How We Protect Your Home From Medicaid Spend-Down
Your primary residence is typically exempt from Medicaid's asset limit, but only under certain conditions. The home must remain your principal residence, your equity cannot exceed approximately $1,130,000 in 2026, and if you move into a nursing facility permanently, that exemption can vanish. Selling the property converts it from an exempt resource into countable cash, which could disqualify you from benefits entirely.
We help clients navigate these rules by structuring ownership through tools like the Medicaid Asset Protection Trust. Once the home is properly transferred into an irrevocable trust, it is no longer considered your asset for eligibility purposes. Medicaid cannot count it, lien it, or pursue it through estate recovery after your passing.
- Trust-Based Protection: We draft irrevocable trusts that remove your home and savings from Medicaid's reach while letting you continue living in the property
- Lookback Compliance: We time asset transfers to clear New York's five-year lookback period for nursing home Medicaid, avoiding costly penalty periods
- Lien Prevention: By moving the home out of your name, we eliminate the state's ability to place a lien on the property during institutionalization
- Spousal Safeguards: We maximize the Community Spouse Resource Allowance so a healthy spouse retains enough to live comfortably
What Happens When Families Wait Too Long
The biggest mistake we see is delay. Families assume they have time, then a stroke or a fall changes everything overnight. Once someone enters a nursing home, every financial decision becomes more complicated. Transferring assets during the lookback window triggers penalty periods that can leave families paying out of pocket for months. And if the home equity exceeds the state limit or the applicant is deemed permanently absent from the residence, the property may no longer be protected at all.
Even in crisis situations, we can often identify strategies to preserve a meaningful portion of a family's assets. But the earlier you start, the more options are available and the more we can protect.
- Early Planning Advantage: Starting five or more years before care is needed gives us the widest range of legal tools
- Crisis Intervention: Even when a loved one is already in rehab or a facility, we can often implement partial protections that save significant assets
- Ongoing Review: We monitor changes in New York Medicaid law so your plan stays current as rules evolve
The Community Medicaid Window You Shouldn't Ignore
New York currently has no lookback period for Community Medicaid, which covers home care services. A 30-month lookback was signed into law in 2020, but repeated delays mean it still hasn't been enforced as of 2026. This creates a rare planning window. Families who act now can position assets in a trust and potentially qualify for home care benefits without the same scrutiny that nursing home applicants face. Once the lookback takes effect, that opportunity narrows considerably.
Our team helps clients take advantage of this window while it's still open, structuring plans that protect against both the current rules and the tighter regulations likely coming in the near future.
Who Benefits From Our Medicaid Planning Services
You don't need to be wealthy to benefit from asset protection planning. If you own a home, have retirement savings, or want to preserve an inheritance for your children, Medicaid planning is relevant to you. We work with individuals, married couples, and families across Queens, Brooklyn, Manhattan, and the greater New York City area.
Whether you are healthy and planning ahead, caring for an aging parent, or navigating a sudden health event, our team will build a plan around your goals and your family's unique situation.
Visit us at https://www.aminovlaw.com/ or call us at (347) 766-2685 to get your free consultation.
