3 yrs ago my mother sold her house & used the funds to build an apartment onto my house so we could care for her, and still have some privacy. It was all done rather quickly as she was starting to be afraid of living alone so we didn't even think about legal matters then. We are now able to take care of all of her meds., security, cleaning, feeding, hygiene ,etc. She is living off of her SS now & has nothing else of value.
Will I be responsible to pay back the amount she spent on her apartment if she would need a NH before the 5 years are up? I really don't want to have to sell my house of 30 yrs to come up with the money.
Buck
Medicaid considers the add on to your home in your best interest. If the home was sold, you would get the proceeds from that add on. You won't be asked to pay it back but you will have to maybe pay for her care privately or care for her until the penalty period is up. So, if it cost 100k to build the addition u either pay 10k a month or you care for Mom for 10 months. I think thats how it works. My suggestion, pray you can keep Mom home for 2 more years, then the sale of her house will not count.
Realistically do you think moms situation can remain as it is now till
like Christmas 2021? Even if she needs to hire in-home aides, or even pay a few months of NH care if need be in 2021, could you all tough out another couple of years to be like 2 mos past last amount of $ she gifted?
If so, I‘d suggest that you all gird up & make that your goal of keeping all as it is now. This way it’s all clearly past the 5 yr Mark. All good for LTC Medicaid & happiness all around eventually.
Remember, Mom has SS$, she can use that $ to pay for an agency.
Yeah, she used her $ to build a place for herself. But property is yours, titled in your name. It’s your asset & whatever value it had before, had afterwards & any possible future increase in its property value due to the addition is all your benefit as your owner. Trying to unthread the commingling of $ will be daunting; personally I think even trying to do this is a waste of time & energy. Two years can fly by, I’d go thru her banking to find the absolutely last $ to you date and do a countdown board to 5 yrs & post it somewhere to have as your goal.
I’ve been on this site for quite a while and one constant has been is that PA is an overarching State when it comes to Medicaid regs and the states tenacity for liens & claims on Medicaid recipients assets. The filial responsibility laws are a part of that. It is not a pro owners property rights state like FL & TX are.
Your best option is to consult an elder law attorney to see what Medicaid rules are in Pennsylvania. The cost of the addition may be a consideration as well as mom's health at the time.
Then, I think I have read on this forum that Pennsylvania is a filial responsibility state. You really need to consult with that attorney.