I am 85 and currently paying around $1,900 for rent and other household expenses. I am thinking of buying a mobile home under $130,000 with the hope that I might be able to leave it to a relative. In addition, I expect to have some caretaking expenses in the future. Will my relatives have to sell this home to pay back MediCal/Medicaid should I have to go into a NH? Does any of the $130,000 affect gift giving or the Look Back restrictions? Can I put my home in more than one person's name? Can I rent my home if I must go into a NH? I know this should probably be answered by an attorney, but I am sure there are a few generalized issues that could be addressed here. Hopefully, someone might be able to suggest some reading sites. I understand that California might be making more changes in 2024.
It’s all super new. The CA elder law attorney is where you need go to get anything accurate.
Your intentions to leave a place to your heirs, is nice. Please reread MJs post Re: if family really want the place. Keep in mind, that right now for most States, the elder can continue to own their in their name homestead (if under certain value, tends to be 600K) as an exempt asset and be ok for LTC Medicaid. HOWEVER realize that the elder once in a NH has to do a copay of almost all their Income to the NH under Medicaid rules. So they have no $; so have to have their family pay for and do whatever needed on the property which is NOT in their name and will be likely subject to an attempt via MERP/ estate recovery by the State (or it’s outside contractor). Family has to pay & do for an unknown period of time & beyond your grave as it’s after death for MERP. If it’s 10K a yr between taxes, lot rent, utilities, maintenance etc…. well family may not want to pay a penny. Or if there are multiple heirs, all should contribute & pay; good luck on having that happen & be done possibly for years. Then what? Your in a NH but owning a home that has monthly costs adding up
Now if this is a trailer located on those way too cool lots on the beach, like in Malibu or Oceanside, someone will happily have the wallet for that.
An elder can keep thier home & be on LTC Medicaid but it’s going to need a family member who can & will pay taxes, insurance, repairs etc on the empty property for years. Average stay in a NH is 2.5 years. Dealing with probate and estate recovery maybe another 1-2 years. Family imho needs the wallet & sense of humor to be able to weather 4 years on “the home”. Talk it over with your heirs to see if this is at all feasible. Good luck.
and when you get some CA attorney answers, could you please post an update? We all do learn from each other!
My dad inherited his mother's two mobile homes (she was in the process of moving from one to the other when she died), and he ended up taking a huge hit on both of them, because the park managers wouldn't approve as tenants any of the people who wanted to buy them. It took him two years to get rid of them, plus he had to pay the space rent every month, and in the end he got about $6,000 for the two of them and had paid $22,000 in rent. He'd also bought them for my grandmother in the first place, so that was a huge financial hit for him.
“A catfood tin on wheels” was an often used & apt description.
Kudos to you for being proactive, and best wishes!