Queens Medicaid Planning Attorney

When a parent or spouse in Queens may need nursing-home care, families usually ask the same questions. How far back will Medicaid look at our finances? What happens to the spouse who stays home? Can a trust still help? Schwartsman Law Group helps Queens families with Medicaid planning under New York law. We plan around the rules in force today, not proposals that haven't taken effect. Call (212) 518-3868 or request a Free Consultation.

This page covers the Queens side of our Medicaid planning services. If your family is also handling an estate in the Queens County Surrogate's Court, we can coordinate both matters (see the section on dual needs below).

The Nursing-Home Look-Back Is 60 Months

When someone applies for Medicaid to cover nursing-home (institutional) care, New York reviews asset transfers made during the 60 months before the relevant date. The 60-month look-back is in New York Social Services Law § 366(5)(e) and in the federal Medicaid statute, 42 U.S.C. § 1396p(c)(1)(B). It applies to asset transfers made on or after February 8, 2006, and to trust-related transfers.

In practice, a nursing-home application can bring scrutiny to gifts to children, transfers of a home, and transfers into an irrevocable trust made within that five-year window. Planning works well when it starts well before care is needed. Starting later can still be worth it, but there are fewer options.

The 30-Month Community Look-Back Is NOT in Effect

Many Queens families read online that New York now has a 30-month look-back for home care. That rule is not in effect.

• Through its MRT II § 1115 waiver amendment, New York asked for federal approval of a 30-month look-back for community-based long-term care, such as home care.
• The state's own proposal page says implementation was delayed. It gives March 31, 2024 as the earliest date the State would seek to implement it.
• As of November 2026, we have found no New York Department of Health notice (GIS) saying the 30-month community look-back is in operation. State law describes it as subject to federal approval and gives no effective date.

We'll let you know if this changes. Until then, we don't treat a 30-month community look-back as current law. The 60-month institutional look-back is in effect, and it is the rule we plan around for nursing-home care.

Protections for the Spouse at Home (2026 Figures)

Sometimes one spouse enters a nursing home and the other stays in the community. New York's spousal-impoverishment rules under Social Services Law § 366-c let the at-home spouse (the "community spouse") keep a share of the couple's resources and a minimum monthly income. The New York State Department of Health published the 2026 figures in GIS 26 MA/03, effective January 1, 2026:

2026 Spousal Figure	Amount
Maximum Community Spouse Resource Allowance (CSRA)	$162,660.00
Minimum State Community Spouse Resource Allowance	$74,820.00
Community spouse Minimum Monthly Maintenance Needs Allowance (MMMNA)	$4,066.50 per month

These figures are reset every year. How they apply to a particular couple depends on that couple's resources and income, so we review the full picture before any application. For Queens couples, we usually start with:

• A complete list of bank accounts, real estate, retirement assets, and insurance, and whose name each is in
• Any transfers made in the past 60 months
• The community spouse's own income compared with the MMMNA
• Whether existing powers of attorney and health care proxies are current and usable

Medicaid Asset Protection Trusts (MAPTs)

A Medicaid Asset Protection Trust (MAPT) is an irrevocable trust that holds assets, often a Queens home. Once the look-back period has passed, those assets may be protected if nursing-home Medicaid is needed. Our New York MAPT guide explains how these trusts work. Three points matter most for Queens families:

• Timing. Moving assets into a trust is a trust-related transfer, so the 60-month institutional look-back applies to it. When you fund the trust matters.
• Proper signing. Under EPTL 7-1.17, a New York lifetime trust must be in writing. It must be signed and acknowledged by the creator and at least one trustee (unless the creator is the only trustee), or signed in front of two witnesses. Amendments follow the same rules.
• Funding. Under EPTL 7-1.18, a trust is valid only to the extent assets are actually transferred into it. A statement in the trust that it "owns" a property does not transfer the property. For a house, the transfer is a recorded deed to the trustee.

A MAPT isn't right for every family. You give up direct control over the assets, and the trust works well when the family can wait out the look-back period. We go over the trade-offs plainly before anyone signs.

A Note on Transfers and Creditors

New York's voidable transactions law (Debtor and Creditor Law §§ 273, 274 and 278, effective April 4, 2020) lets creditors challenge certain transfers. These include transfers made with actual intent to hinder, delay, or defraud creditors, and some transfers made without fair value. Claims generally must be brought within four years. This is one reason to plan while finances are stable rather than after a debt already exists.

Trusts for a Disabled Family Member

Some Queens families need to plan for a disabled spouse, child, or other relative as well as an aging parent. Social Services Law § 366(2)(b)(2)(iii) and 42 U.S.C. § 1396p(d)(4) recognize two exception trusts:

• First-party disability trust. For a person under 65. It can be set up by the individual, a parent, grandparent, guardian, or a court. When the beneficiary dies, the State is repaid for the Medicaid it paid.
• Pooled trust. Run by a nonprofit. Each beneficiary has a separate account, and the accounts are pooled for investment.

Which one fits depends on the person's age, where the money came from, and the family's goals.

Powers of Attorney and Health Care Proxies: Avoiding Guardianship

Often someone has to carry out Medicaid planning on behalf of a parent who can no longer manage their own affairs. A valid power of attorney is usually what makes that possible.

• Statutory short form power of attorney. The current form under General Obligations Law § 5-1501B took effect October 25, 2023. It must be printed in at least 12-point type, signed and dated, acknowledged, and witnessed by two people (the notary may be one of them). The agents must also sign and acknowledge it.
• Health care proxy. Under Public Health Law § 2981, a proxy needs two adult witnesses, and the agent cannot be one of them. Remote audio-video witnessing is allowed under § 2981(2-a).

Without these documents, a family may need a court-appointed guardian under Mental Hygiene Law Article 81. In a guardianship case, the court considers "available resources," and MHL § 81.03(e) expressly lists powers of attorney, health care proxies, trusts, and representative or protective payees. Current documents can make court involvement unnecessary.

Queens Dual Needs: Medicaid Planning and a Surrogate's Court Estate

Many families face both at once. A parent dies while the surviving parent needs care, or a sibling has to settle an estate while also handling a Medicaid application. The two matters affect each other: how the estate passes can change what the surviving spouse owns, which can affect Medicaid eligibility.

If the person who died lived in Queens, the estate generally goes through the Queens County Surrogate's Court, because SCPA § 205 places the case in the county where the person lived. The court sits at 88-11 Sutphin Blvd., Jamaica, NY. Our Queens County Surrogate's Court guide walks through the process. For help with the estate itself, see our Queens probate attorney page.

A few estate rules often come up alongside Medicaid planning:

• Small estates. Under SCPA § 1301, a small estate is personal property with a gross value of $50,000 or less. These estates can use a simpler Surrogate's Court procedure.
• No will. If there is no will and the person leaves a spouse and children, EPTL 4-1.1 gives the spouse $50,000 plus one-half of the rest. The remainder goes to the children by representation. That inheritance matters if the surviving spouse is on Medicaid or applying.
• Creditor claims. Under SCPA § 1802, an executor or administrator who pays claims in good faith after seven months from the first letters is protected against claims presented later. This affects when distributions can safely be made.

We coordinate the Medicaid application with the estate so that neither one undermines the other.

How We Work With Queens Families

• Review. We gather financial records, the 60-month transfer history, deeds, and existing documents.
• Plan. We explain your options under current New York rules, including spousal allowances, trusts, and updated powers of attorney and proxies.
• Carry out. We prepare the documents and supervise their signing, handle trust funding such as deeds, and coordinate with any pending estate.
• Update. Medicaid figures change every year, and pending proposals such as the community look-back may change the rules. We keep you informed.

Our attorneys are licensed in New York. We serve Queens, Brooklyn, Manhattan, the Bronx, Staten Island, and Long Island.

Talk With a Queens Medicaid Planning Attorney

Every family's finances and care needs are different, and the right plan depends on timing. Call (212) 518-3868 or schedule a Free Consultation to review your options for nursing-home Medicaid in Queens.