My mother was in a nursing home for 2 1/2 years she died because they neglected her. Approximately one month after her death I received a check for over $40,000 made out to her specifically not her estate and the bottom of the check stated resident refund.
I contacted my lawyer and asked her about this check. She said that we would have to open up a large probate which we did. It has been two years due to other circumstances we have not been able to close this probate. We are now at the point where we are attempting to close it, my lawyer says to me, was your mom on medicaid? I told her yes and she knew that because I had told her originally she said oh we now have to file this through the state to make sure they don’t want this money back. At the time of her death and receiving the check, I called the nursing home and asked them. What is this money? I called them five times every time they told me, they didn’t know what it was that was just a resident refund. on the last time I called them July 2023 I once again said are you ever going to tell me what this money is and they said I’ll have to check into it and get back to you. They never called me again and nor did I call them now here we are and I’m afraid that we are gonna have to give it back to the state. Is that the case? It’s been over two years now.
Just my opinion, but there may not be any statue of limitations with Medicaid. I say this because when a caregiver is allowed to remain in the home or a Community spouse, there is still a lien put on the house. That person could die 20 yrs later and the lien still needs to get satisfied. This SNF needs to tell you why this check was written or send you to the right person. And I would say, Medicaid is probably entitled to the money as part of recovery.
Chances are there was some kind of audit done by Medicare or the state or the IRS and some entity caught the mistake and you were refunded money. Also, take care to let your lawyer look carefully at any paperwork that may have come with the $40,000 check. You want to make sure that they aren't pulling anything like some fine print making the money an out-of-court settlement for any neglect or abuse on their part because cashing that check could mean they are not liable.
Call Medicare and ask them to send you a detailed record of everything they paid since the date your mother went into the nursing home until now. This is what I did and it turned out they were owed next to nothing. Look at those Medicare statements. If they were covering something and you also paid for it, you are owed the money back.
I was PoA, then Executor/Personal Representative for my Aunt who passed away this January. Not in a facility, not on Medicaid but did have bonds and an annuity she cashed out but didn't deposit before she passed (in FL).
The elder law attorney walking me through probate had me apply to be PR for her estate. Then the attorney had me open up a special estate account for my Aunt at a bank of my choice. The undeposited annuity check and cashed bonds could then get deposited into that account. Probate has not closed yet. From that estate account I was legally allowed to pay the government (her taxes for example), the funeral home and *some* of those related expenses, the lawyer, the CPA who processed her 2024 taxes.
So, the annuity check was not made out to my Aunt's estate but was allowed to be deposited posthumously and legally into her estate account. I have been paying legally allowed expenses from this account.
You don't mention being your Mom's PoA while she was alive and you don't mention being her Executor/PR after. If you were, you would have been getting letters for her MERP. You don't mention if you are working with an elder law or estate attorney, which would all be helpful to know.
"My mother was in a nursing home for 2 1/2 years she died because they neglected her."
Maybe this is the facility's way of buying you off from filing a lawsuit?
FYI checks can expire, and the one they gave you seems to be 2-1/2 yrs old? I would call the issuing bank and see if it's even able to be deposited at this point.
Of course your attorney should know this rule already. Are you using a certified elder attorney who understands Medicaid for your state?
You mentioned you received the check one month after your mother died. Didn’t you also receive a request from MERP after your mother died asking about her estate? There are strict time lines on the correspondence from Medicaid.
You mention that the reason you had to file a “large probate”was because of the check. It does seem odd that your attorney did not know or ask about your mom being on Medicaid.
How would you even cash a check made out to your mom? Did the attorney advise you to open an estate checking account?
I sure hope you find some answers. Sorry about the loss of your mom and the way she passed.
I guess I'm confused as to why you would ever think that that money would belong to you anyway, when you yourself say that your mom had nothing.
And your "lawyer" should have known better as well.
Something just isn't adding up here. Your best bet now is to get a lawyer that deals with Medicaid in your state, to make sure this is being handled correctly.
But that amount... how long did they know they owed her that money? When did your Mom apply/get accepted for Medicaid?
Does this facility have a higher administrative office? Is it part of a chain? Maybe you need to involve an ombudsman? There must be an explanation for it, but at the end of the day it either means your Mom would probably not have qualified for Medicaid (when she did) or/and Medicaid Estate Recovery Program means they might have a claim to some or all of it. In estates, the government gets paid first and foremost.