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My brother has gotten his name on my parents' bank accounts and is using their money for himself.

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If a person who is added to a bank account withdraws money from that account for their own benefit, it is considered a gift to them at the time they make the transfer to themselves. If it was not authorized by your parents, then it is an illegal transfer, and your parents should immediately take his name off the account.
If the transfer was with your parents' approval, it is a gift and will cause a Medicaid penalty period should either of them apply within 5 years.
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Your profile states that you're caring for your mother. Has she and/or your father granted a DPOA to either of you? Are you also a joint signatory on their account(s)? Have either of them been diagnosed with dementia, and/or is there any particular reason why they added him as a signatory to their account?

What are their assets, and would they be qualified for Medicaid now if they applied?

How did you become aware he's using their funds for himself, and do your parents know? What's their response?

Much more information is needed in order to answer your question.
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Ny parents just added me to their checking acct to assist with writing bills when the time is needed. Dad is 99 and does his own bank balances and pays his bills. Mom is 85. Does having my name on their acct deter them from receiving Medicaid. All they truly have is their social security check and that's it. They are very frugal. They do own a home that is in a trust. Please steer me on the right path so that they can qualify if either needs to be in an assisted living or nursing home. Thank you all. This is a wonderful site.
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Just because your name is on their bank account doesn't mean anything to Medicaid. It's whether or not you've taken money from the account for your own use. Medicaid looks back five years and questions all withdrawals over a certain amount. As long as the money was spent on THEM or for THEIR use? Medicaid has no problem with it. It's my understanding that amount is $500. Their home is probably not exempt. It would be a rare trust that exempted a home from Medicaid's long arms, and you would probably know if that's the kind of trust it was.
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LAL, you call the cops and report a crime.
Scallop: Leave the house in the Trust. Do NOT move them in with you, because Medicaid is based on household income. Read all the trust documents carefully. If they need help call the county social services.
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My recent experience with Medicaid is that there is a 7 year look back. We hired a Medicaid attorney to help with the application and my parents didn't have much (no trusts, only own one home, one car). It is a difficult, frustrating, sad experience.
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Pam, I think you're wrong about considering household income. Just because a parent moves in with their adult child doesn't mean that adult child's income is counted to determine eligibility.
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So can Medicaid still take their home? They are thinking of moving in with me and I dont know what to do with the house--ask them to place it in my name, sell it, keep it until they are no longer with me? Thoughts?
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Eldercare attorney or at least good estate planner time. Your name on their account is not likely a big deal, though you could become responsible for overdrafts; though banks don't always like it, if you are POA it could be kosher to access their accounts for the purposes of doing online bill pay, etc. DON'T put you name on credit cards that they might run up debt on, my poor cousin got absolutely clobbered with that when she did not realize my aunt had lost her previously flawless on-time billpaying and sensible financial skills. I had to have a fairly complicated mess of different accounts with several different combinations of names on them all at one PA bank so I could could transfer funds as appropriate. I was Dad's rep payee and moved some of "his" money for Mom's needs at times and vice versa. I still have ALL the documentation though it got boxed up and moved to the attic about two years after Mom passed on. Since Medicaid is in their future, your attorney or estate planner needs to be very aware of Medicaid rules and look back periods. In PA where my folks were, their home actually had to come OUT of a trust not to be a countable asset and that was no mean feat in Allegheny County; it would have been different in a different county or state, and the estate planning company that (mis)handled how it was all set up was based in New Jersey. Medicaid is not in the business of taking people's home while they still need to live in them, but neither are they in the business of preserving anyone's inheritances. It gets complicated and as Medicaid gets more swamped it gets tougher. You may additionally have to consider things like long-term care insurance and filial responsibility laws. It's a steep learning curve.
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Last year when Mom still lived in CA and I was POA to my mother's expenses, I kept track of every penny she spent for her bills. After she was moved to OR, I turned over the POA to my brother to handle her affairs. In December 2013, Mom started using OR Medicaid to help pay for her care at a private room in assisted living after her own funds ran out. She and own our CA condo that she cannot return to but I now live there alone and take care of. After she passes, I have all my records of how Mom paid her bills should Medicaid question my POA handling.
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