Going through the Medicaid eligibility with my mother. House is well past the 5 year look back. Mom has been living on the property rent free with the expectation that she pay the taxes and do repairs needed while living there for as long as she is able to live there. She is in a home now(7 months). Will any of the costs associated with repairs to the place while she was living there affect her eligibility?
And now mom needs Medicaid funding for long term care, right?
So, you OWN the house, yes? The deed has YOUR name on it?
So, YOU are responsible for its upkeep. If you can't afford to keep it up and pay the taxes, you sell it and buy something that you CAN afford.
If the gift is past the look-back period, the money she spent on outgoings was not a ‘gift’ to you as the actual owner, but an agreed payment in lieu of rent. That’s at least one way to put it. My guess is that you are OK with Medicaid, but it’s worth checking.
You might also want to check if you would have needed to pay Income Tax on rent, and if so whether the payments in lieu of rent might be regarded as your taxable income. So check which way costs you all less, and also how good the computer cross-checks are between Medicaid and Income Tax in your State.
It's not the case that verbal agreements don't ever have legal standing. But they need to be credible - which the above is, and is evidenced by non-payment of rent and payment of outgoings.
The house was gifted over 5 years ago so its beyond the look back. New heating system and converted well(mud coming through the pipes) are within the 5 years. But as you mentioned, I never collected base rent ~$72K over 5 years while she spent about $23K on property tax and upkeep. My attorney mentioned something a few years ago about not being indentured to our parents and agreements like this are not unusual or out of line. My call is in 3 hours. Lets see how the wonderful state of Oregon receives this information.