What Long-Term Care Planning Actually Covers

Long-term care planning addresses how you’ll pay for extended nursing home, assisted living, or in-home care while protecting your assets from being exhausted by those costs. It isn’t a single document. It’s a coordinated strategy that typically includes Medicaid eligibility planning, asset protection tools, and incapacity documents that keep you or a loved one in control without court intervention.

A durable power of attorney authorizes someone you trust to manage finances if you become incapacitated, and it remains effective without requiring a guardianship proceeding. When families skip this step, they often face Clark County District Court proceedings under NRS Chapter 159 to appoint a guardian, a process that costs time and money. Building these documents into an estate plan from the start can help reduce the likelihood of that outcome.

Nevada Medicaid Rules That Shape Your Planning Timeline

For many Las Vegas residents, Medicaid may eventually pay for long-term care. But qualifying requires meeting strict financial thresholds, and timing matters enormously. Planning years in advance rather than months gives you far more options.

Asset Limits & the Look-Back Period

Nevada Medicaid long-term care eligibility generally requires an individual applicant’s countable assets to be below $2,000. That threshold shapes every planning decision. Nevada also applies a 60-month Medicaid look-back period that reviews asset transfers made before a long-term care application. Transfers for less than fair market value during that window can trigger a penalty period of ineligibility, delaying coverage when care is already needed.

Medicaid Estate Recovery

After a Medicaid recipient passes away, Nevada’s Medicaid Estate Recovery Program can seek reimbursement from the estate, often including the home. This is a factor that long-term care planning must account for well before a care need arises.

Nevada Asset Protection Trusts & Self-Settled Spendthrift Trusts

We have established competence in Nevada Asset Protection Trusts (NAPTs) and self-settled spendthrift trusts, both of which can play a meaningful role in a long-term care plan. Nevada’s Spendthrift Trust Act allows a person to establish a self-settled irrevocable trust that can protect assets from certain future creditors while the person retains some benefit from the trust. When combined with Medicaid planning strategy and proper timing, these tools may help preserve assets that would otherwise be at risk.

Whether a revocable or irrevocable trust structure fits your situation depends on your assets, your timeline, and your family’s needs. We walk through those variables with you before recommending an approach.

Business Interests & Real Estate in a Long-Term Care Plan

We have extensive experience in business and real estate law alongside estate planning and probate, which means we understand how to arrange those holdings within a long-term care and asset protection plan rather than treating them as a separate problem.

Russell Bowler brings a perspective shaped by his background in business law. He is a former adjunct professor of business law at UNLV’s College of Business and holds a Certified Public Accountant certification in Colorado (currently on inactive status). That background supports careful planning when business valuations, ownership structures, or rental property are on the table.

Serving Las Vegas & Surrounding Communities Since 2000

We’ve served clients across the Las Vegas Valley since 2000. Our office is located near the Green Valley area in Henderson, making us accessible to clients in Henderson, North Las Vegas, Whitney, Summerlin, and throughout the region. We also offer bilingual Spanish services for clients who prefer to communicate in Spanish.

Travis Twitchell has been selected to Super Lawyers every year from 2017 through 2025, and the firm carries an A+ rating from the Better Business Bureau. When questions come up during the planning process, you won’t wait days for a reply. We keep clients informed throughout the process because the decisions involved in long-term care planning affect your family’s financial future.

Start Your Long-Term Care Planning Consultation

The right time to plan is before care is needed. We offer free initial consultations so you can discuss your situation, ask questions, and understand your options without any upfront commitment.