Care planning, explained carefully.

Q: Do you promise that I or my loved one will qualify?

No. Eligibility depends on the household’s facts. We do not promise Medi-Cal eligibility, qualification, recovery avoidance, or any care-payment result from a webpage or a first consultation alone.

Q: How does a living trust relate to Medi-Cal planning?

Educational only—no overclaim. A properly funded revocable living trust may help keep properly funded trust assets out of probate, and those assets can often be administered without a full probate for those assets—not a promise that a trust “protects the house from Medi-Cal.” Funding still matters. See estate planning and trust funding.

Q: When should we schedule a consultation?

Earlier is often easier—before a crisis forces rushed decisions—but families also come mid-transition. If care costs, missing documents, or the home and a spouse’s future are on your mind, book a consult.

Q: Is the first consultation free?

Yes—a free 60-minute consultation. /contact · (805) 915-4793 · Trusts@cbm.estate. Se habla español.

Medi-Cal and long-term care planning conversations for California families—when nursing-home or other long-term care costs are on the table, and you want clarity without scare tactics or false promises. At CBM Estate & Trust Law, this page is a place to start a fact-specific conversation. It is not legal advice, not a qualification calculator, and it does not promise Medi-Cal eligibility, recovery avoidance, or any care-payment result. Eligibility depends on facts we can only review with you.

As of: September 27, 2026 (PT).

Quick answer: what this page is (and is not)

A place to start a fact-specific Medi-Cal / LTC planning conversation

Families often arrive after a care-facility tour, a hospital discharge, or research about “Medi-Cal planning attorney California.” Adult children worry about a parent’s home. Spouses worry about the partner still living in the community. Others want to update an estate plan before a care event.

At Carmen B. Marquez, P.C. dba CBM Estate & Trust Law, Medi-Cal planning means careful education, honest limits about what a webpage can say, and advice only after we understand the household. We serve Ventura County and Los Angeles County families from Simi Valley and Glendale.

Not a qualification calculator, eligibility promise, or result guarantee

This page will not tell you that you (or a parent) “will qualify,” promise that a trust “protects the house from Medi-Cal,” or quote invented asset limits, lookback periods, recovery percentages, or share-of-cost figures as DIY rules. California Medi-Cal rules for long-term care are detailed and change. Counsel applies current California Medi-Cal rules to your facts.

Limits we state plainly

Eligibility depends on facts we can only review with you. Hiring is a separate decision after a free consultation. Technical depth belongs in counsel-verified guides and a fact-specific meeting—not a DIY eligibility manual here.

Topics families usually bring to a consult

Long-term care costs and household resources (qualitative)

Families ask, at a high level, whether California Medi-Cal may help pay for certain long-term care services and what planning themes are realistic for this household. We discuss those themes carefully. We do not predict a payment result from a webpage.

The home, a spouse still living in the community, and planning themes

Many consults turn on the family home and a spouse or partner still living in the community. We talk about them at a high level—title, who lives where, and how estate and Medi-Cal planning themes can interact—without fear marketing and without inventing rules on this page. Outcomes are fact-specific.

For deeper reading: Medi-Cal estate recovery in California. Lookback and asset limits remain a separate guide: Medi-Cal lookback and asset limits in California.

How trusts and estate plans may interact—educational only

Families often ask whether a revocable living trust or a broader estate plan “solves” Medi-Cal. Soft framing: a properly funded revocable living trust may help keep properly funded trust assets out of probate, and those assets can often be administered without a full probate for those assets. That is not a promise that a trust “beats Medi-Cal recovery” or “protects the house.”

If a living trust is part of the plan, funding matters. Signing builds the safe; funding puts the valuables inside—an unfunded trust is like an empty safe, or just paper. CBM helps Private Clients with funding after signing. Learn more: trust funding · How to fund a California living trust · Living Trust vs Will in California · elder law.

Where to learn the technical pieces

Estate recovery → Medi-Cal estate recovery in California
Lookback & asset limits → Medi-Cal lookback and asset limits in California
Related elder-law overview → elder law

The California Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) publishes public information about Medi-Cal estate recovery and related eligibility topics. Agency materials and Medi-Cal estate recovery in California are the right place for statutory and dollar-figure detail, not invented numbers here.

California Courts Self-Help describes wills, living trusts, powers of attorney, and advance care planning: Wills, estates, and advance care planning. Online summaries cannot replace advice about your care needs, title, and family.

How CBM works on Medi-Cal planning matters

Free 60-minute consultation; hiring is a separate decision

Start with a free 60-minute consultation. Bring questions about care costs, the home, a spouse in the community, existing documents, and timing. Hiring is a separate decision after you understand the path.

Book: /contact · Call: (805) 915-4793 · Email: Trusts@cbm.estate

Advice only after understanding the household—no webpage predictions

We do not offer Medi-Cal eligibility predictions from a form, a chat, or this page. Advice follows a review of the household’s facts.

MetLife Legal Plans (companion estate-planning documents only)

If your employer offers MetLife Legal Plans, you may be eligible to receive most estate planning services at no cost for yourself—and often for an eligible spouse and dependents under your plan. Coverage depends on your plan. MetLife members can upgrade to CBM’s Private Client package at a reduced rate for services beyond plan coverage. Mention MetLife when you book.

Scope note: This MetLife note applies to companion estate-planning services. It does not mean MetLife covers Medi-Cal planning specialty work, Medi-Cal advocacy, or post-death trust administration. Learn more: MetLife Legal Plans estate planning.

Offices in Simi Valley and Glendale — Se habla español

Simi Valley: 2655 First Street, Suite 110, Simi Valley, CA 93065
Glendale: Glendale Plaza, 655 N Central Ave, 17th Floor, Glendale, CA 91203

Local pages: Simi Valley estate planning attorney · Glendale estate planning attorney

Se habla español. Free Simi Valley seminars: /seminar-calendar. Related: elder law · estate planning · trust funding · /guides · /about

FAQs

What is Medi-Cal planning?

A careful, fact-specific conversation about how California Medi-Cal themes may interact with long-term care costs, household resources, and an estate plan—not a webpage promise that anyone will qualify.

Can Medi-Cal help with nursing home or long-term care costs?

At a high level, California Medi-Cal may help pay for certain long-term care services for people who meet program rules. Whether your household qualifies is fact-specific. This page does not predict a care-payment result. See also elder law.

Do you promise that I or my loved one will qualify?

No. Eligibility depends on the household’s facts. We do not promise Medi-Cal eligibility, qualification, recovery avoidance, or any care-payment result from a webpage or a first consultation alone.

Will Medi-Cal take the house?

Careful answer: we do not use scare “lose the house” marketing, and we do not invent a one-line rule here. Home and community-spouse themes belong in a fact-specific consult. See Medi-Cal estate recovery in California. Outcomes are fact-specific.

What is Medi-Cal estate recovery?

At a high level, estate recovery is the state’s process for seeking repayment from certain estates after a Medi-Cal beneficiary dies—under rules that are detailed and change. This page does not paste dollar figures or full statutory detail. See Medi-Cal estate recovery in California.

How does a living trust relate to Medi-Cal planning?

Educational only—no overclaim. A properly funded revocable living trust may help keep properly funded trust assets out of probate, and those assets can often be administered without a full probate for those assets—not a promise that a trust “protects the house from Medi-Cal.” Funding still matters. See estate planning and trust funding.

When should we schedule a consultation?

Earlier is often easier—before a crisis forces rushed decisions—but families also come mid-transition. If care costs, missing documents, or the home and a spouse’s future are on your mind, book a consult.

Is the first consultation free?

Yes—a free 60-minute consultation. /contact · (805) 915-4793 · Trusts@cbm.estate. Se habla español.

Next step

Care planning deserves clarity, compassion, and honest limits about what a webpage can promise. We will help you start a fact-specific Medi-Cal and long-term care planning conversation—and connect related estate planning and elder law themes when they fit.

Free 60-minute consultation
/contact · (805) 915-4793 · Trusts@cbm.estate

If your employer offers MetLife Legal Plans, mention it when you book. Your plan and CBM must confirm coverage, eligible people, matter acceptance, costs, and work outside the plan. Do not assume it covers Medi-Cal planning specialty work or post-death trust administration.

Simi Valley: 2655 First Street, Suite 110, Simi Valley, CA 93065
Glendale: Glendale Plaza, 655 N Central Ave, 17th Floor, Glendale, CA 91203

Se habla español. · /seminar-calendar · /guides · /about · Estate recovery · Lookback / asset limits

This page is for general educational and informational purposes about California Medi-Cal and long-term care planning conversations as of the date above. It is not legal advice, does not create an attorney-client relationship, is not a Medi-Cal eligibility determination, and may not reflect future law or agency updates. Outcomes—including Medi-Cal eligibility, recovery exposure, care-payment results, probate exposure, and MetLife coverage—are fact-specific. Consult an attorney about your circumstances. Attorney advertising.