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Are you worried that putting your home or savings in an irrevocable trust means your kids will suddenly control your life? This is one of the most common fears I hear from Ohio families. And it’s exact reason so many delay making a plan to protect themselves from nursing home costs. But here’s the reality. An irrevocable trust isn’t about handing over control to your children. It’s about creating a shield that protects your independence.

your assets, and your future. By the time we finish today, you’ll understand exactly why the phrase, why your kids don’t own you, perfectly captures the truth about irrevocable trust and why they’re one of the most powerful tools for Medicaid planning in Ohio. I’m Ted Goodarff, board certified estate planning attorney, and I’ve worked with hundreds of Ohio families who share the same fears you may have. Many people picture signing trust papers

and immediately losing the keys to their home, with their children suddenly in charge of everything. They imagine being at the mercy of their kids’ and even risk being thrown out of their homes. But that simply isn’t how it works. When you set up an irrevocable trust, your children don’t own your assets. The trust owns them, and the trust only works according to the instructions you carefully set out ahead of time.

Think of it like locking your house, your savings, and your legacy into a vault. That vault can only be opened by following the combination you design. Let me tell you about one of my clients, Margaret, a 72-year-old widow from Dayton. Margaret had a home worth $200,000 and about $150,000 in savings. She came to me with tears in her eyes saying, Ted, I’ve worked my whole life for this house.

I’m not about to let my son kick me out of it.” She was terrified of losing her independence, but equally afraid of losing everything she had to the nursing home. What we did for Margaret was create an irrevocable Medicaid Asset Protection Trust and included what’s often called a life estate provision. That meant she was guaranteed the right to live in her home for the rest of her life, no matter what. Even though the trust

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technically owned the house, her son had no power to sell it, mortgage it, or remove her. The trust documents spelled out all the rules, and those rules were clear. Margaret kept her home for life. Two years later, Margaret needed nursing home care that cost $8,500 each and every month. But because her assets had been in the trust for more than five years, didn’t count them.

when determining her eligibility. Her home and savings were safe. Medicaid covered her care and she preserved her family’s inheritance. Without the trust, she would have been forced to spend down every last dollar until she just had $2,000 left before Medicaid would help. That’s the power of planning ahead. One of the biggest misconceptions about irrevocable trust is the word itself, irrevocable.

People assume it means you lose all control, but that’s not true. You still control the trust through the instructions you put in place at the beginning. You choose who will serve as trustee. You decide what happens to your assets and under what conditions. You decide who the beneficiaries are, when they benefit, and even how much. You can build in protections so that your children don’t misuse your assets or get access to them

before you want them to. The difference is that you’re making these decisions upfront when you’re healthy and thinking clearly rather than leaving it to chance or to a court later on. I had another couple, Robert and Linda from Springfield, who illustrate this perfectly. They owned a home worth about $400,000. They were worried about putting it in a trust because their youngest son had a history of financial problems.

They were afraid he might squander their assets or try to manipulate things. So we designed their trust to name their responsible daughter as trustee. She was given specific instructions that the assets could only be used for Robert and Linda’s care during their lifetimes. Their son was still named as a beneficiary, meaning he could inherit something after his parents passed away, but he had absolutely no control

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while they were alive. The trust document went into remarkable detail, outlining that Robert and Linda could live in their home for life, that the trust could pay for modifications if they needed wheelchair accessibility, and that their comfort and well-being always came first. Their daughter had no discretion to ignore these instructions. She couldn’t sell the house on a whim or use the money for herself. The power was in the document.

not in the children. But what if you don’t trust any of your kids to take on that responsibility? That’s a very common concern these days and the solution is simple. You can name a professional trustee, perhaps a bank trust department or an attorney or a CPA. Professional trustees are insured, regulated and legally required to follow your trust instructions.

Yes, they charge a fee, perhaps as much as 1 % of the assets on an annual basis, but they provide neutrality and peace of mind. Many will serve on an annual flat fee basis as well. For families who worry about sibling rivalry or irresponsible heirs, this option ensures the trust will be managed exactly as intended. Now,

Let’s deal with the elephant in the room. Medicaid’s five-year look-back period. In Ohio and across the country, Medicaid examines your financial history for the five years prior to your application. If you transferred assets to an irrevocable trust during that window, Medicaid imposes a penalty period where you have to pay out of pocket before coverage begins. This is why timing is so critical. The earlier you plan, the more effective the protection.

One of my clients, Frank, waited too long. He was 78 when he finally agreed to set up a trust. Just three years later, he needed nursing home care. Because he hadn’t cleared the five-year look back, Medicaid penalized the transfer, and his family had to pay privately for two years before he qualified. His situation wasn’t about losing control to his kids. It was about waiting too long to plan. This brings up an important point about why a trust

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is different from just giving assets directly to your children. If you gift your house to your kids, they really do own it. That means it could be lost in a divorce, seized by creditors, or even sold without your consent. If your child goes through bankruptcy or gets sued, your house is at risk. And irrevocable trust eliminates that risk because your kids don’t own it. The trust does.

They can’t borrow against it, they can’t sell it, and they can’t use it as collateral. It’s protected by the legal firewall of the trust. And let’s talk about your rights as the creator of the trust. Even though it’s irrevocable, you still retain significant rights if the trust is drafted properly. You can reserve the right to live in your home for life. You can reserve the right to receive income from trust assets, such as dividends or rental income.

You can reserve the right to change trustees if the one you picked isn’t working out. And in Ohio, you can take a trustee to court if they aren’t following the rules. The law requires trustees to follow what’s called fiduciary duty, meaning they must act in your best interest. If they don’t, they can be removed, sued, and forced to repay any losses. This is an enormous safeguard that doesn’t exist

if you simply transfer property directly to your kids. When we draft trust for our clients, we often include a statement of wishes. This isn’t legally binding, but it gives the trustee clear insight into your personal values and preferences. For example, you may write, I want to remain in my home as long as safely possible, or I prefer in-home care over nursing home care when feasible.

While the trustee must follow the binding instructions in the trust document, these statements guide their judgment and keep your values at the center of decision making. The most important point to remember about control is this. An irrevocable trust actually gives you more control over your legacy than doing nothing. Without a trust, if you need long-term care, the government forces you to spend down almost everything you own.

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until you qualify for Medicaid. You’re left with little to no choice. But with a trust, you decide ahead of time how your assets will be preserved and who will benefit from them. You’re not giving away freedom. You’re creating a structure that protects your freedom and your family’s future. Let me give you another example. Tom and Betty created their irrevocable trust about 10 years ago. Today, Tom suffers from dementia.

and requires expensive memory care. Because of their planning, Betty continues living in their home with full rights to do so. The trust generates income to help cover Tom’s care, and their daughter, serving as trustee, follows the detailed instructions they wrote years ago. Their assets remain intact. Betty is secure, and Medicaid provides coverage once the eligibility rules are met.

Tom and Betty didn’t lose control to their children, they gain control by planning ahead. This is where Ohio law adds another layer of protection. In Ohio, assets inside of an irrevocable trust are generally protected from Medicaid estate recovery after death. That means even if Medicaid pays for years of care, the state of Ohio cannot place a lien on your home or seize trust assets after you pass.

Your children or beneficiaries inherit those assets according to your instructions. Without the trust, Medicaid could file a claim against your estate and force the sale of your home to recoup costs. With the trust, that scenario is avoided entirely. So let’s bring this full circle. An irrevocable trust in Ohio is a shield, not a surrender. It protects your assets from the devastating costs of nursing home care.

preserves your right to live in your home and ensures that your wishes, not Medicaid, not creditors, and not even your kids, determine what happens to your property. Your children don’t own you because they don’t own your assets. The trust owns them, and the trust is bound by the rules you write. You’re not giving up freedom to your kids. You’re protecting your independence, your dignity.

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and your family’s future by setting clear boundaries. The phrase, why your kids don’t own you, isn’t just catchy, it’s the truth. With an irrevocable trust, you’re not making yourself dependent on your children’s goodwill. You’re creating a legal framework that ensures your care is provided for and your legacy is preserved exactly the way you intended. And that’s the real power of smart estate planning.

Now that you understand how irrevocable trusts protect your independence, the next step is to learn about Medicaid’s five-year look-back period. This rule can make or break your planning, and knowing how it works is essential if you want to protect your assets. Click right here to watch my video, Medicaid’s Five-Year Look-Back Period Explained, Protect Your Assets, where I walk you through everything you need to know.