Will Medicaid count my savings account as an asset if Mom's name is also on it?

Please call and meet with an eldercare attorney before you do anything. some of the answers don't seem quite right. it will be worth your money.

If she has dementia she should not be on your account--anybody can trick her into taking money out of your account. All she has to do is sign her name on a check and it's a done. Since it is your account, you can have her name removed from it very easily.

If it is all your money, then there should be no problem. The main problem would come if funds were mingled. I hope that it doesn't cause any trouble with your application.

Change ownership to your name only, and payable on death to mom. Or, be prepared to show the deposits are only from your income.

You should remove her name from all of your accounts. It does count as her income if she has access to the account. With her name on it, she technically has access to it. And as another person said, if she has dementia she is susceptible to being taken advantage of, someone could get your account info from her. Better safe than sorry.

Medicaid will presume that any money in any account with her name on it is hers, unless you can show that only you contributed to it. This is because many people have tried the opposite: to claim that an elder's money is theirs simply because the child's name is on the account for convenience, so that the elder can qualify for Medicaid sooner. This does not work and they will look right through it. Ergo the presumption that any jointly titled account really belongs to the elder. But you can rebut this by showing contribution.

I agree with "grannysmith" good advice. You don't need to contact a elderly attorney just listen to those that have been through it. States will differ, I'm in OH and have been there. Take her off the accounts, believe me medicaid will try to drain everything if her name is on the account. Save the money from spending on a lawyer, you will need it. Good luck @ take care

For the benefit of others in this situation: If you want someone who's not your spouse to be able to step in during an emergency to pay the phone and electric bill, etc, create a separate smaller account which includes their name. If it's primarily in your name, i.e, under YOUR social security number, it's yours (and you report income from it on YOUR tax return.)

Please seek the advice of and Elder Law Attorney. They know all the rules and regulations and the know the legal and ethical ways to protect funds and the proper ways to create financial eligibility. Our state denied 79% of all applications last year. Get help.

I would not change anything at this point. A lawyer is a good thing. I took my Mom's name off of my Nephew's acct years ago because a lawyer suggested it.