One of the unfortunate problems with smaller estates is that while an individual is alive his or her estate property can be eaten up by long term care or nursing home costs. A moderate nursing home cost, in an area with moderate prices, is $24,000 per person per year. In most states the rate averages $36,000 per person per year or more. Five years in a nursing home could cost $180,000, and that is in today's dollars. It could be much more for individuals who will receive long term care many years from now. When the nursing home patient owns assets a very large proportion of the assets must be sold to pay the long term care costs before Medicaid will take over. (Medicare, a completely different program, does not pay any long term care costs, and has so many limitations for nursing home use that it cannot be considered as a viable source of funds for long term care.) About the only valuable asset that the patient's family can retain is the family home, but then only if there is a spouse or dependent child living in it. When the second or surviving spouse also needs long term care, or dies, even the family home must be sold before Medicaid will help further.
 

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