I need to spend down money for my mother. Should I spend all her money on a house?

If you are asking whether or not you can buy a home to spend down the money so that Mom qualifies for Medicaid, then the answer is no. Unless she has a husband who is still living and I assume that is also a no. The "spend down" is meant to be spent on Mom..i.e. funeral expenses is usually what most people start with. My advice would be to seek the services of an elder care attorney who will explain exactly what you need to do. There is also a method of placing Mom's money in a Trust Acct.....the money does not have to be spent down immediately in order to qualify for Medicaid....BUT when Mom is no longer here, you would be billed for the money they paid for her care and expected to pay that bill from her estate. If you have receipts to show that the money was used FOR HER CARE then it's okay. It's just a way of putting off the spend down. But the key is the money still has to be spent on her care. You can buy a new vehicle.....yes perfectly valid....the catch is the vehicle must be made to be accessible for Mom....such as a handicap seat or a wheelchair van. Again, an elder care attorney would be the best one to give you the information on what is legal to do and what might get you into trouble. Good Luck!

Hank is spot-on.

If you use the 35K to buy a house in mom's name just how are you going to pay for the expenses related to the house once mom goes into a NH and is on Medicaid?
Remember once they are in the NH on Medicaid, all their monthly income MUST be paid to the NH less whatever is their states personal needs allowance. That is usually between $ 30 - 60 a month - it is not enough to pay for the upkeep of a home.

35K is really not very much $ to "spend-down". They can buy funeral and burial policy - this will run about 10K; small life insurance (irrevocable NCV) - this should be at whatever is her state's maximum allowed, about $ 1,500. Buying her new glasses, dental care (spotty on Medicaid), hearing aids, walkers. Prepay for some items, like hairdresser. Remember no $ gifted to others. Everything must be for their care or their property. Medicaid look back is 5 years. The state can go thru 5 years of bank records & also require receipts to any item that pique’s their interest.

She is allowed a (1) car as an exempted asset - so you could get a modest new or used car in her name. Plus you could use the vehicle to "drive her". Good luck.
This would probably be OK

Though this is somewhat morbid I would suggest foreseeing the future. My sister-in-law had to spend her mother's money to keep her level of income low for medicare ad. What she did was used the money to finance a funeral, which is so expensive. There are other suggests of ways she spent the money for her mother's comfort, but this was one major expensive I am making sure I have handled for my 90 year old mother.

Why does she need to spend down her money? If it is so that she can qualify for help for the govenment, I think they woud frown upon that. Also, if you did that and something happened to her, I would think you would no longer have a house. There are other ways to spend it down. If she doesn't allready have one, a funeral trust is a good way idea. You can aslo call someone from the aging and disability office for guidence on what you can do.

yes if your mother wish you can spend but dont disturb her mind keep her heppy any way
Dr Healer Shashikant S.Seth

Look up your state's rules regarding Medicaid This is what I found:
"Estate Recovery allows SRS and Medicaid to recover medical care costs from the estates of recipients who, prior to their death were 55 years of age or older, resided in a nursing facility or received Medicaid-funded HCBS services; and/or did not have a spouse, children under 21, or disabled dependents. A person's estate includes the home, savings, or other assets remaining upon death. No lien will be placed upon property while the recipient or spouse is living, but a claim may be filed on the estate upon the death of both the recipient and spouse. All medical expenses paid by SRS may be included in the claim."

I would not jeopardize your home. Besides a funeral trust, other appropriate expenses include dentures, hearing aids, glasses and depending on her needs, assisting devices like wheel chairs, tub lift... They will look back and want to know where the money went. Spending down is just that, spending her money on her needs until she qualifies for medicaid.

Thats not a lot of money to buy a house with. I wouldn't spend it if I were you. They could come after you for many things, including financial abuse of the elderly, or fraud, if you buy a house, and put her name on, they will take it when she dies in order to get paid back anyway. SO, I would take it out of the bank, invest in a safe, put it somewhere no one will know, and hopefully it will take your mom 3 years before she needs medicaid. Don't spend it, don't buy a house, put it away for a rainy day. If you put it into a trust account I don't believe they can touch it. Perhaps you should talk to an elder attorney, or estate attorney for legal advice.

I can tell you that you can't put it somewhere where "no one will know" Social workers and medicaid workers have access to all financial records, and it is a bad thing if they find out that you have been trying to hide money.

Best answer - Talk to a lawyer!