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She had a massive stroke in June and has been in the hospital, Hospital Care Rehab, and now short term rehab. We're trying to get her into a long term home now while Medicaid is pending because Medicare will no longer pay. She was deemed incompetent to make her own decision so we have to get a conservatorship to deal with her assets. That can take months and we have no way to pay for her care in the meantime and she needs more care than my wife or I could ever give her. She never had a power of attorney or any plans for aging really.

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You don't "need" to sell, as a car and a home can be held and one can still qualify for Medicaid. But you may WANT to sell in order to help with care while awaiting qualification for Medicaid and placement. This comes down to a question really for attorney or one knowledgeable about Medicaid in your state, because selling her car will give her assets that may make qualifying delayed due to "having assets" from car sale.
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Reply to AlvaDeer
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Gut response here...
If MIL will never drive again keeping her car makes no sense.
If MIL needs the money from the sale of the car to pay for her care I doubt there would be any legal problems in doing so. (no one is going to say that you took financial advantage of her).
If you sell the car keep meticulous record as to the sale.
I don't know how legally you will be able to sell it without her signature on the title.
If you do sell it as I said keep a record of the sale and it must be sold for Fair Market Value so I would get at minimum 3 estimates as to it's value before you sell it.
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Reply to Grandma1954
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Download the Medicaid app for her home state so that you can see what info they need. In my state, the person who fills out the app for another person doesn't have to be a PoA, legal guardian or conservator -- they are simply called a Personal Representative for the applicant.

The PR needs to know the applicant's info, like SSN, DOB, have access to bank statements, know what other assets they have, and include 3 months worth of medical bills.
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Reply to Geaton777
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CRSonInLaw
Unless your and wife’s cars are in MIL’s name, it’s irrelevant to Medicaid how many cars you have. It’s only what she has that matters for long term care Medicaid.
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Reply to 97yroldmom
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If you sell her car it has to be for true market value and the funds spent on her. Keep excellent records. This will need to be part of her application. Any property she owns or has sold in the past five years. Any large expenditures she has made will need to be identified as to purpose.

But you do not need to sell her car in order to get on Medicaid. She is allowed to have one car.

Look up Medicaid rules for your state.
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Reply to 97yroldmom
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You might want to seek an opinion from an attorney with Medicaid eligibility expertise,, but it’s my understanding one car is exempt. However, if she does qualify, moving forward, who will pay for insurance, tags, maintenance, etc., since her income will drastically reduced.
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Reply to Sunnygirl1
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CTSonInLaw Aug 13, 2025
We're going to sell her car to help pay medical bills once we have conservatorship but that could take months. Hopefully she's on Medicaid before then because we have no way to pay for her care otherwise and are worried she'll be denied because my wife and I also have vehicles.
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