Transfer the deed to whom ever you would like to benefit from it. If the deed is in your name only there should be no issues. You have to check your states rules bc i know in my state there is a 5 year look back on all assests. Meaning if you transfer today and tmrw you have to go on medicaid/pass away they will take it. But if you transfer today and says nothing happens for another 10 yrs there is no claim to your home and it will go to whom ever you wish. So check your state laws and rules about medicaid and look back times. Hope this helps
It depends how much your house is worth and if you respond to the notice they send you 6 weeks after someone named on the deed dies. But if he is not on the deed, I don't believe Medicaid can take it. It will be yours.
When and how the deed was transferred is very important and key to answering this question correctly. I would find a elder law attorney specializing in Medicaid, pronto. An attorney can advise you on how to protect your assets for the benefit of your children. Ask specifically about spousal impoverishment.
Our lawyer told me Tuesday that I'm not responsible for my husband's debts when he dies. So any loan, etc. in his name only, I'm not responsible to settle it. That would include a nursing home debt. You might check to see if that's the case where you live. Putting a house in a child's name is not always a good idea. I've heard horror stories about that.
First & foremost, do you live in a community property state? I believe that alters the situation a bit - if the house is in just your name in California, for example, your husband would still be considered 50% owner if the home was purchased during the marriage, regardless of the fact that he is not on the deed. As suggested before, you should consult with someone who knows the laws of your state.
Whatever you do, I advise against putting your house in multiple names. My parents put the deed in our seven names, The dissension over one sibling's financial abuses committed years ago, but only brought to light in recent years since I became POA and fiduciary, will make it very difficult to come to agreement on much of anything.
A good estate planning attorney should be consulted, if possible, especially with so much at risk. I wish my parents had put the house in a trust 20 years ago, but the good news is that they didn't because the financial abuser would likely have connived their way into administering the trust.
In IL. Medicaid paid for my friend's nursing home care. The surviving spouse has now passed. The children (all over 60) have listed the farm for sale. Medicaid will be paid back from the proceeds. I do agree with this, since the family did actually have the money to care for their mother, it was just tied up in the farm. (I am talking about the lady's actual farm.)
I always have trouble with this issue....if Medicaid is used to pay for nursing home care (isn't that our tax money?) and if there are any assets (house) left, shouldn't that be used to reimburse for the care? But then you have people changing the deeds to put their children on ...so they can keep it or sell it and keep the proceeds after their parents passing.. I feel that is cheating. But maybe I'm missing something and maybe I should talk to my parents about changing the deed to my name. I do have an aunt who has been in State care for the past 30 years or so. The family farm is in her name and will be sold after she passes. Those funds will be used to pay the State back for her care.
Kashi- Ask yourself what your parents would want. All assets going for care of some of those going to children? Also keep in mind that we as well as our parents have paid into the system as well to pay for Medicaid. My grandma paid for her own care in a nursing home, she lived to be 101. All of her assets went for her care. But eventually she ran out of money and was on Medicaid for the last six years of her life. She would rather that the assets were reserved for her children. But, because a family member was not willing to care for her she was required to spend her money for her care. Care is care and should be paid for regardless of who provides it. Raising a child is much different than caring for a sick parent, who will never get better and often comes at great sacrifice by the child caregiver.
A significant difference in some of these cases is that children take the responsibility of caring for parents, sometimes in parents home. Give up own homes, life, career, family and everything else. This is why, in some states, Medicaid allows property to be transferred to a child if child has cared for parent, keeping them out of institutions for at least two years, but they have done it for much longer in some cases. If these child caregivers are not compensated for care by parents, which in many states is permitted by law, we are creating yet another generation of eligible Medicaid recipients in those child caregivers, who have given so much, when costs are higher.
It depends on the state you live in. I suggest you meet with an elder law attorney in your area. As an elder law attorney in Florida, I can tell you the home is an exempt asset in Florida, and as long as you live there or your husband has an intent to return home (whether he can is not relevant), the home will descend to your son. I strongly encourage you to meet with an elder law attorney. Brittany G. Gloersen, Esq.
Thanks 'gladimhere".....I've always pondered this dilemma. I do believe that child caregivers should be compensated in some form or fashion for caring for their parents. If I end up having to care for one or both of my parents, I would probably keep their SS income toward that care. It's just the house I guess is the main issue that is left 'out there". In my State, TN, I don't think the house is exempt and after the last parent has passed (after being in NH using Medicaid) the estate must pay back the funds used. It's just that if the parents' own a $500,000 home and transfers it to a child and then the parent(s) must use medicaid for NH care..that's the part I think is unfair to leave taxpayers to pay for the care and the children get to keep the proceeds from the home.
You should protect yourself legally by having a contract indicating services to be provided and the agreed upon compensation, as I've been told, to avoid any accusations or charges for misusing/stealing/embezzling your parents' assets.
just a thought have you made a will? if you pass first then the asset goes to the other spouse if married if other spouse goes then it is yours but please put in will what you would like done with the property they can only have one spouses half not yours
MrsMagoo - the state does NOT want your mom's or anyone else's house. The states are not in the "little old ladies house" real estate business. BUT what the states are required to do - in order to participate in Medicaid - is to try to use the assets from the Medicaid recipient to pay or recover ("recoup") some of the costs paid on their care and paid for by Medicaid. This is done via MERP after death and via the 5 year look back when they apply. Medicaid is for those "at-need" so they have to qualify for needing "skilled nursing services" and financially "at need" which is basically impoverished with 2K in income & 2 K in non-exempt assets. The home if it is their primary homestead is an exempt asset except in unusual situations. If a spouse living in the house, it is always exempt. Now under MERP, there are exemptions to recovery and expenses allowed to off-set recovery. What they are and how they have to be applied for is different for each state and very much dependent on state death laws. But the key to the exemptions and expenses is that they HAVE TO BE FILED FOR TO MERP and within the very short specific time-frame that MERP requires.
If you don't, then the state can place a lein or a claim on the property. So any sale or transfer of the house will have to have the MERP claim or lien "lifted" before a sale or proper transfer can be done. State doesn't want the house but state wants proceed$$'s from the sale or value of the home to recoup Medicaid payments.
The states have been able to do some sort of recovery since the 1990's. BUT rarely was there anything definitive done till recently. In the early 2000's, the fed's required the states that in order for them (fed) to do the Medicaid matching, they (state's) would have to come up with a recovery plan. As each states Medicaid program is administered by each state differently, how MERP is done depends on your state laws for probate, death & property rights. The states grandfathered all existing Medicaid recipients too so if you were on Medicaid before 2005 or 2006 (depends on state) then there would be NO MERP done as the rules had changed.
Kashi - this last sentence is important for your family to know and look into.
It's a lot to wade through and really it's my thought that most of us need an elder law attorney to make this happen correctly. Long term planning is the key but most family & their elderly just don't. It is my experience that if they live long enough, & unless are generationally wealthy, they will run out of $$ & need Medicaid.
kashi - the ability to "transfer" a house without Medicaid finding out doesn't happen very often. All real property ownership is recorded in the state's database and is just a few keystrokes for the Medicaid caseworker to find out to the penny what stuff sold for.( I don't know if all states are doing this but we had to do a separate TIN paperwork for property we bought a couple of years ago.) So all that data is there, state will find out, therefore Medicaid will find out and a transfer penalty done on the Medicaid recipient. Now how that get's enforced is a whole other issue….
Although the correct type of lawyer would be a good idea you may be able to find out the correct answer in your locale before or instead of paying for the lawyer. The lawyer very well may be unnecessary expense. In other words if in your state MERP will not do anything about the house you will have paid a lawyer or firm for no good reason. Most of the time you will end up paying whether you need to or not & something may be done that you wish you hadn't. I would start with the web regarding your particular state. Then I would try & contact your local area on aging or your DADS office which in Texas stands for Dept. of Aging & Disabled. Start by typing into google search field (Dallas, Texas nursing home ombudsman) for instance using your town & state. Get the correct phone number for that town's ombudsman. Then call that number & ask if they have someone over benefits & financial eligibility in their dept. that you could speak with. If it's like DFW you will go to a voice mail that will be replied to in a month at the shortest so I would also ask if there is an email address for the person so you don't have to play phone tag. Sometimes they don't know it or can't give it but it's worth a shot. Just ask for anyone that knows anything about financial eligibility for nursing home medicaid. Then when you get to the right person explain & they should know the right answer for your area about the house. Your other contact options are the state you live in, you can try & find the numbers for your state's HQ for these agencies. I really do wish people couldn't post on here w/o including their state because then ppl like myself could give you more concrete helpful answers. What state do you live in?
Kathleen - another thing to keep in mind is IF your state has outsourced MERP. TX has done this as has dz.'s of other states. For those states who have, the approach to MERP is very different as the contractor does this on a % of recovery. So they are very much like debt collectors rather than state employees. For TX as about a dz more states it is HMS who does this. They are very very good at what they do as they (different division) do compliance for CMS.
Igloo so what you are saying is they are more aggressive about collecting after death? I am trying to set myself up so that if they come after dad's condo upon his death I have the money to purchase it myself from MERP as a last ditch option. It is much cheaper than the overly large house I have for just me now that family has grown & gone. 2300 sq ft is actually too much now while I am caregiving & advocating at the home. I really do not wish to age & go in fac. here either as the condo is in Florida there is or at least has been better advocacy in FL. So if I move to FL into his condo after death I will be fac. there. The diff. in FL now is that it has moved towards an Obama situation where the NH have changed how the person is advocated for. Don't know if it will be worse or better for the patient. All I know is FL NH are better & have more funding than TX. I can't stand the NH system & advocacy here. It all trickles down to bad care. I already have a ladybird deed on the condo which in both states means that it avoids probate which means in TX they don't come after it but just in case they try I should have the money to purchase the $40,000 condo from them once we close on this vacant lot we are selling. Out of my half if it sells like its supposed to I will have the 40,000 and more to cover maint. fees. Then I can leave this monster of a house behind for someone 60 something to maintain & go to that nice little 2-2 condo with all neighbors over 55. Such a nice quiet community too. It was restful over the summer there. I will miss the kids though. I will have to find a place to stay when coming back for a visit to see them. Maybe that's where the rest of the sale proceeds will go is towards a hotel when I visit the kids back here. I know I won't get them to come see me. Maybe they'll send the grandkids so they can go to the beach with me.
I agree Igloo and others..Medicaid is a very complicated process. My Caregiving group that meets once a month had an Elder Attorney come and speak...and wow...it's is mind blogging...there's a whole set of rules for what's considered exempt and not exempt from including as assets. The home, in TN, is not exempt if both spouses have passed and there is money owned to the State for NH care. Of course, it's understood that the recoup method is a lien and if and when the house is sold, the State is probably first in line to get reimbursed from the sell. You almost have to have an Elder Attorney to help navigate the process. So it would probably cost a couple thousand to get someone approved for Medicare but probably worth the expense.
Since your name only is on the deed, you should not have any problems should you lose your husband. Have you looked into a Millers Trust. Check with your atty. as I am sure he will be familiar with this trust. I had a Millers Trust when my husband passed away and he was receiving Medicaid. There was no problem with our home. After all, I had to have a place to live and the Millers Trust that guaranteed this.
Don't get talked into deeding the house to your son before you die. You might find yourself in trouble with Medicaid if you need to go into a NH. Also, you might find yourself homeless. If it's in his name, it can be foreclosed for his debts or he or his heirs (god forbid something happens to him) can sell it out from under you.
An elder lawyer with Medicaid experience in your state is your best get.
On second thoughts, I defer to gladimhere - ask someone who actually knows the answer!
A good estate planning attorney should be consulted, if possible, especially with so much at risk. I wish my parents had put the house in a trust 20 years ago, but the good news is that they didn't because the financial abuser would likely have connived their way into administering the trust.
Ask yourself what your parents would want. All assets going for care of some of those going to children? Also keep in mind that we as well as our parents have paid into the system as well to pay for Medicaid. My grandma paid for her own care in a nursing home, she lived to be 101. All of her assets went for her care. But eventually she ran out of money and was on Medicaid for the last six years of her life. She would rather that the assets were reserved for her children. But, because a family member was not willing to care for her she was required to spend her money for her care. Care is care and should be paid for regardless of who provides it. Raising a child is much different than caring for a sick parent, who will never get better and often comes at great sacrifice by the child caregiver.
A significant difference in some of these cases is that children take the responsibility of caring for parents, sometimes in parents home. Give up own homes, life, career, family and everything else. This is why, in some states, Medicaid allows property to be transferred to a child if child has cared for parent, keeping them out of institutions for at least two years, but they have done it for much longer in some cases. If these child caregivers are not compensated for care by parents, which in many states is permitted by law, we are creating yet another generation of eligible Medicaid recipients in those child caregivers, who have given so much, when costs are higher.
Brittany G. Gloersen, Esq.
The states are not in the "little old ladies house" real estate business. BUT what the states are required to do - in order to participate in Medicaid - is to try to use the assets from the Medicaid recipient to pay or recover ("recoup") some of the costs paid on their care and paid for by Medicaid. This is done via MERP after death and via the 5 year look back when they apply. Medicaid is for those "at-need" so they have to qualify for needing "skilled nursing services" and financially "at need" which is basically impoverished with 2K in income & 2 K in non-exempt assets. The home if it is their primary homestead is an exempt asset except in unusual situations. If a spouse living in the house, it is always exempt. Now under MERP, there are exemptions to recovery and expenses allowed to off-set recovery. What they are and how they have to be applied for is different for each state and very much dependent on state death laws. But the key to the exemptions and expenses is that they HAVE TO BE FILED FOR TO MERP and within the very short specific time-frame that MERP requires.
If you don't, then the state can place a lein or a claim on the property. So any sale or transfer of the house will have to have the MERP claim or lien "lifted" before a sale or proper transfer can be done. State doesn't want the house but state wants proceed$$'s from the sale or value of the home to recoup Medicaid payments.
The states have been able to do some sort of recovery since the 1990's. BUT rarely was there anything definitive done till recently. In the early 2000's, the fed's required the states that in order for them (fed) to do the Medicaid matching, they (state's) would have to come up with a recovery plan. As each states Medicaid program is administered by each state differently, how MERP is done depends on your state laws for probate, death & property rights. The states grandfathered all existing Medicaid recipients too so if you were on Medicaid before 2005 or 2006 (depends on state) then there would be NO MERP done as the rules had changed.
Kashi - this last sentence is important for your family to know and look into.
It's a lot to wade through and really it's my thought that most of us need an elder law attorney to make this happen correctly. Long term planning is the key but most family & their elderly just don't. It is my experience that if they live long enough, & unless are generationally wealthy, they will run out of $$ & need Medicaid.
kashi - the ability to "transfer" a house without Medicaid finding out doesn't happen very often. All real property ownership is recorded in the state's database and is just a few keystrokes for the Medicaid caseworker to find out to the penny what stuff sold for.( I don't know if all states are doing this but we had to do a separate TIN paperwork for property we bought a couple of years ago.) So all that data is there, state will find out, therefore Medicaid will find out and a transfer penalty done on the Medicaid recipient. Now how that get's enforced is a whole other issue….
but if the children were caretakers of the surviving spouse
doesn't that change things?
An elder lawyer with Medicaid experience in your state is your best get.