Don’t Let a Nursing Home Crisis Become a Financial Tragedy.

Get your loved one the care they need without spending down their bank accounts, selling the house, or losing their retirement

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You spent 40 years building your legacy. The nursing home could take it in less than 12 months.

Right now, you are standing at a crossroads. One path leads to the “Medicaid Spend-Down”. That road can force you to drain your bank accounts, cash out your IRAs, and potentially sell the family home just to pay for care.

It’s not just about money; it’s about dignity. It feels like a punishment for saving.

But there is another path. A path where you keep the house. You keep the savings. And your loved one still gets the same high-quality care.

With The Shea Law Firm, you don’t have to worry about losing all of your family’s hard-earned savings. With nearly 25 years of experience, we understand how these Medicaid regulations work and we are prepared to help you protect your family’s assets and get the long term care they need without having to spend it all down unnecessarily. We can help you protect what matters most so that you don’t become another statistic of those forced into financial ruin by Medicaid. We can stop the spend-down.

Here’s What We Do

Stop the Spend-Down

If your family loses everything to the spend-down, then you have no security and almost no options. What can you do with no money left? Not much.

We provide financial security for your family by stopping the Medicaid spend-down so you are not put at anyone’s mercy and left with no options to protect your loved one or their spouse.

Get Medicaid

Securing Medicaid benefits can provide a lifeline for families with a loved one in a nursing home, ensuring proper care and financial support for the rest of their life.

Experience peace of mind knowing that Medicaid assistance is there to shoulder the burden, allowing you to focus on cherishing precious moments with your loved one.

Keep Medicaid

At The Shea Law Firm, we understand the immense relief that comes with knowing your Medicaid benefits are secure, even if a simple mistake occurs.

Trust in our expertise to safeguard your lifeline, providing you and your family the comfort and confidence to live without fear of losing benefits in the future.

Here’s What People Think About Working With Us

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Working with the Shea Law Firm has been an exceptional experience from start to finish, and we cannot speak highly enough of Rich, who served as our estate planning attorney. Rich worked tirelessly with us to create our revocable living trust, guiding us through every step with patience, clarity, and genuine care.Estate planning can feel overwhelming, but Rich made the entire process smooth and understandable. He took the time to explain each option in detail, answered every question thoroughly, and ensured that our wishes were fully reflected in the final documents. His professionalism is matched only by his compassion—he truly listens, and it shows in the quality of his work.What stood out most was his dedication. Rich never rushed the process; instead, he made sure everything was done correctly and tailored to our needs. We felt supported, informed, and confident throughout the entire experience.If you are looking for an attorney who is knowledgeable, trustworthy, and deeply committed to his clients, we wholeheartedly recommend the Shea Law Firm and especially Rich. We are grateful for his expertise and the peace of mind he helped us achieve.

Chiedu &. May 29, 2026

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If you are someone that maybe in the process of trying to get a loved one qualified for Medicaid please consider the following. Normally, I do not write public reviews but because of the complexity and experiences I had I believe it's warranted. I highly recommend Mr. Shea. I had been debating for awhile whether or not I could undertake this entire process myself. As I began to review the paperwork and the complexities I discovered very shortly I was not equipped to try to get my mother qualified for Medicaid. I had researched numerous attorneys and found Mr. Shea to be a great fit. He was very responsive. This process can be very time consuming and he was able to walk me through it. The amount of documentation, deadlines, and in my specific case asking for extensions and review of my mother's case could never have had a successful outcome without his expertise. He was on top of all the required filings and again what was most important to me was keeping me in the loop and constant communication. Great experience and well worth the value. Highly recommend.

William S. May 5, 2026

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I am a lawyer who helped my elderly in-laws apply for Medicaid assistance in payinf for their nursing home expenses. We hired Rich Shea's firm to represent us in the process. Rich and his firm provided exceptional services to us in guiding us through the exacting process. Being a lawyer, I may have been able to muddle my in-laws through the process. But I definitely would not have been able to do so as efficiently as Rich and his firm guided us through the process. Highly recommend.

Tom K. April 27, 2026

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Kind, communicative, efficient, patient, supportive, thorough -- mere words could never fully express the depth of my gratitude for Rich Shea and for what he has done for our family. I fought the system alone for years to get my severely disabled mother the hands-on, round-the-clock, fully staffed care she needed and deserved. I had to leave a 20-year career in a profession I loved to become her full-time caregiver, even when it was painfully obvious that I alone could never provide the level of care she needed. After being led astray many times by people in the medical care industry, Rich Shea picked us up, dusted us off, and with one foot in front of the other showed us the light at the end of the tunnel. Thank you, thank you, thank you to The Shea Law Firm.

Michelle S. February 13, 2026

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Mr. Shea handled our Medicaid claim for my wife in a very professional and expedient manner. I highly recommend him for your attorney needs.

Dave C. January 16, 2026

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My uncle has no immediate family and due to age and illness, he's not able to care for himself. I was needing to get him qualified for Medicaid. As I began to research qualifying him for Medicaid, I realized I was lost in the bureaucracy and red tape. I found Mr. Shea and was impressed with his professionalism and willingness to help. Mr. Shea answered my questions and assured me that this will all work out. That assurance gave me the peace of mind I was needing and knew he was taking care of my uncle. Thank you Mr. Shea for being a blessing to my family.

Clay R. December 18, 2025

Here’s What You Get

One on one service from Attorney Richard Shea
Regularly scheduled updates on the progress of your case
A proven track record of success
We escalate with the HHSC after 45 days
Transparent and comprehensive fee structure
We deal with the HHSC, you don’t have to
Independent advice you can rely on
We complete the MERP questionnaire at no cost
We prepare and file the application for you
We prepare QITs at no extra cost when needed
Simple and transparent fees
25 years of Medicaid experience
Comprehensive custom solutions for your unique facts
Available by call, video conference, e-mail, or text
Multi-disciplinary collaborative approach
If the HHSC makes a mistake, we appeal it at no extra cost
We file your annual Medicaid renewals at no cost
You avoid Medicaid Estate Recovery at no extra cost
We cure penalties from previous gifts in the last 5 years
Power of Attorney and Homestead protection at no extra cost

Frequently Asked Questions

This is a very common belief and one belief that I am happy to say is 100% myth. Most of the families we work with are after someone has already entered a nursing home. Married or un-married, a nursing home admission does not make protecting your life savings impossible.

Unfortunately no. For eligibility purposes the HHSC views a married couple as one unit. Everything either spouse owns is evaluated as part of the Medicaid application process through the process called “deeming.”

IRAs, 401(k)s, and other types of retirement accounts are not automatically protected from a Medicaid spend-down. In some cases they are while in other cases they are not. We can show you the path to protect those retirement accounts.

No. Many nursing homes are a mix of Medicaid beds and private pay beds. This means a patient on Medicaid receives is in the same facility and receiving the same care that the person paying $8,000 or more a month receives. The nurses are not checking each patient’s file to see who is paying the bill, I assure you.

No. You can choose any nursing home that accepts Medicaid. Medicaid has a network of participating providers like every other commercially available health insurance. Many nursing homes accept Medicaid and private pay residents because very few patients can pay the private pay nursing home cost their entire life.

No, it is half of everything either of you own combined. The $148,620 figure is the maximum amount for the healthy spouse AFTER dividing all the assets in half. That means in order to keep $148,620 under the default rules you need $297,240 ($148,620 * 2) and you would still lose all the assets exceeding $148,620.

Medicaid covers the room and board of the nursing home (the largest expense) and all medically necessary expenses with a few exclusions. If you have co-pays from doctor visits or prescriptions Medicaid will pick those up once you are approved as long as you use Medicaid participating providers and vendors.

Call (832) 856-4526 or use the button below to schedule a call at a better time for you.

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