Medicaid and a quit claim deed.

My husband fell into depression/anxiety after losing his job at 61yrs.old. With health insurance and medicare and a "healthcare" system that knows nothing but giving drugs I have been caring for him for 8 years. I have physical disabilities myself. He now has dementia and caring for him is a monumental burden. I believe in paying for my own healthcare needs, but the Congress of the US has been taking care of the "health" industry rather than passing laws for fairness to citizens so there is competition in healthcare. There is excellent healthcare in the US but not for those who use "health insurance". If competition was allowed, you know, the free market, we could all have the benefit of the care and competent drs. We tax payers have paid dearly all our working lives for being taxed(to death). Laws/regs have forced us into these corners. In a perfect world everyone should have set aside part of income for eventual long term care should it come to that, but all incomes are not equal --don't believe they should be either. Since our "government" has seen to it there is no fair competition--no free market--the middle and lower classes of income earners are not permitted choice.

In 1999 I became responsible for my mother's health care and financial affairs when her long-simmering COPD finally caught up with her and she was, quite suddenly, no longer able to live in the family home of 45 years. She made me Durable Power of Attorney in the hospital, on the spot. I was entrusted to do what she saw as right and fitting. Mom was a responsible person all the way until she lost her cognitive capacities due to the COPD (a leading causes of death). Because the incapacitation was sudden, I had not had time to prepare for any of the issues that come up in such transfers of legal authority. So I was all of a sudden Power of Attorney, just turned 50, and holding onto my job for dear life because at that age I was almost certain I'd never be able to find another if I had to quit. I was also scared that if I did lose my job, I'd have to live on my retirement savings way before I'd expected to. That turned out not to happen, though I suspect others on this thread may have had to resort to it. I did look into Medicaid planning in the beginning because of concerns about this. We were not rich. And I got a Full Ration of shaming from some parties for even asking, including a bank official who tried to intimidate, humiliate and threaten me. So anyway, Mom didn't want to go that route, which actually made my POA job easier -- at least in some ways. I sold the family home, and the proceeds from that paid for Mom's care -- funds ran out just a few months before she died. In the meantime, when I visited her in the nursing home, I could walk into the unit, say hello to the people on the desk and in the hallway who took care of her 24/7 and look them in the eye.

It is not moral. It is my obligation to prepare for my own care as best as possible, and not expect others to pay for it. To hide assets requires one or more acts of perjury. Not just immoral, but also a crime. My children have no special right to my assets, especially when they would come through a financial crime, and at the expense of others more needy than my children or myself.

Did you "prefect" the title?

Many people think all they need to do is get the document signed and they are done.

I would get a realestate attorney to verify the transfer.

Medical science keeps people alive longer but the government does not know how to handle it. Baby boomers are rapidly retiring and Alzheimer's is on the rise. The look-back law is five years. However, see an eldercare attorney for home deeds--a quick deed is considered gifting; a "Lady-bird" deed does not go through probate so Medicaid can't touch it.

It's so messed up. The whole system.
I sold both our cars, had to stop paying all bills, lived on ramen noodles for 2 months, to pay for my husbands memory care homes. I still do not have health insurance(have to put him first) but thankfully my only car is having severe problems. Applied for a loan against the house, but it's a band aid loan. Temporary fix. I too, could have done something, but I believe in the truth. I'm glad I documented everything from the last two years. It's unfair! Sorry for my rant, I am not up to posting these days, but this topic got to me:(

Why would you and your family "hide" this asset? Sell the house and pay his medical bills. You are just pushing off his care on the American people. Why? So you can have a house? I, personally, don't know your father and should not have to pay for this.

My mother-in-law has been in a NH for two years. Private Pay, her assets are dwindling quite rapidly. I see no one speaking of how we are prolonging life. Many of the resident's in her NH have no idea what day it even is, when will we allow people to die a dignified death. It seems the NH is prolonging life expertly to keep the beds occupied.

hopalong - the OP Judeebug was writing about concerns over a transfer of property done by her father over 10 years ago via a QCD. Thats a pretty long period of time, nothing "hasty" imo for that decision. Dad's situation changed in the decade since & now needs a NH & applied for Medicaid. If Judeebug & her dad did all the paperwork & filed at the courthouse so that the transfer was all correctly done (this is what Heiser was referring to), there should be no issue in so far as Medicaid or later on MERP/estate recovery is involved. It is way way past the 5 year look back.

QCD ?'s come up pretty often on this site as QCD are viewed as a simple, easy no fuss way to move property within family. Problem often is that the document is faulty; family doesn't file at courthouse so no ownership change; or that the person "selling" the house/land doesn't have clear title to do so (there's a mortgage or lein on the property). Most often it's that mom does the QCD to 1 of the kids but mom continues to have the house in her name as it gets all sort of elderly tax exemptions even though she has signed off QCD to her son…. and then when mom needs a NH & Medicaid, that QCD is worthless as house was not actually legally transferred as far as tax assessor or the state is concerned.

QCD's can work. QCDs are done all the time in divorce proceedings & a judges' orders to have this happen. But doing them on the fly on your own (like Googling a form), poses risk unless you are very familiar with property sale & ownership transfer for your states laws.

What if he gets well? There was a show on TV where an elderly lady filed a suit against her family because they sold everything she had while she was recovering from an illness. Assisted living does not mean imminent death, don't be so hasty.

Judeebug - so now that AC forum has gotten way way WAY past your ? (lol!), do you have other ?'s regarding how to deal with a QCD & assets for Medicaid?

Send you are right! Do not worry. :)

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How NOT to keep calm and ignore them!
Admin, thought I would do a favor and spell it out for you, reporting my post too!

Stacy, sorry, looked up payroll deductions and Medicaid is not included it's Medicare.

Joann29, ABSOFRIGGILUTELY! YOU GO GIRL!

Just my 2 cents 😃. Don't think our parents ever thought they would live as long as they did or are. None would want to live with Dementia or Alzheimers. Our parents got it into their heads that they needed to leave their children something. Media tells them they can live in their homes till they die. Then there r the children that feel the parents owe them an inheritance. I know two people who years ago turned their homes over to a child who never left the home and has been there for them. That I can see. But to turn assets over so the children get there inheritance before parents die, no. That house and savings should be there to take care of that parent. Our parents are entitled to Medicaid, they paid for it in payroll deductions just like Medicare and SS. We all have choices to make when it comes to our parents. We all have different personalities and deal with what life deals us differently. I give those of you that have done Caregiving over a period of years tons of credit but for me 20 months at age 66 was too overwhelming with no help from siblings. Some weight has been taken off now Mom is in an AL. Our parents chose to have children. They knew that it was going to cost them time and money, which my parents didn't have a lot of. We're loved, clothed, fed and had a roof over our heads. They didn't go in debt for us I owe the same thing to my Mom. But I don't owe her all and the rest of my life. Yes, she is part of it but so are my children, grands and especially my husband. Our parents paid their dues. They r entitled to what is offered out there. A skilled nursing home is the last place I want to place my Mom but if she is still here next Summer I will have to place her there. Her money runs out. I don't have the money or what it takes to be a caregiver. I agree, sometimes taking in a parent is the only option but we should take advantage of what is out there. Whether our parents like it or not. They become like children so boundaries have to be set. If u can't bath a parent and can get a free aide go for it. They will just have to adjust because "you can't do it". Everyone's situation is different. Some people can multitask most can't. We r here for support not condemning. Politics should be left out.

Jessie we had a patient (sorry about all the patient stories) who fell for one of these inmates and "love letters" went back and forth usually with a little gift from her, as she had little to give. She was very elderly and close to dying by the time I knew her and he was VERY much younger. Her sister was tearing her hair out over this because the woman was spending her pittance on this worthless SOB.
She was absolutely desperate to meet this boy she loved so much. He was in prison a couple of hours away and one of the volunteers offered to drive her so off they went. Apparently they spent the entire visit canoodling if that's how you spell it in the visiting room. Soon after that she had to move to her sister's home because she could no longer care for herself and the sister destroyed the letters when they came. Sad really as she got such pleasure from her boyfriend.

Tacy, therein lies the problem. Who decides what is "necessary care"? Insurance companies won't pay for care that they feel is "investigational". What about mental health? It just doesn't seem right to me that government funds are paying for things that hard-working insured people can't afford and their insurance won't pay for. And it is not just inmates. This happens with other tax-funded programs, too.

Teaching in jail can be meaningful. I've seen some of the worst people, but I've also seen rotten people turn to law-abiding people. This doesn't mean they turn to angels, just they don't rob and kill people anymore. I've learned that there is a really good reason people go to prison. Sometimes I hear people feeling sorry for the poor prisoners. All I can do is roll my eyes.

I know this is a lot off-topic, but I had two students who had been on death row, but had their sentences commuted. One was still very mentally unstable and dangerous. The other started a pen-pal scam in the prison and wrote letters for the inmates to send to unsuspecting women. The women would send them checks each month so they could buy things. If only they knew that the letters didn't even come from the person who was supposed to care so much about them. Poor ladies! Inmates can be master manipulators.

Somebody tried to recruit me to go into a local prison to do sick parade each morning. Fortunately they wanted me at 7.30 AM and my shift did not end till 8.30 so I had a legitimate excuse
We also had patient in a very secure facility for the criminally insane and i was so glad not to be called there. You had to turn in everything at the entrance except your clothes. They were some very nasty criminals. So good for you JessieBelle

GA, I was a biology teacher. I taught in two of the universities in south Georgia. At one my job included going into the prisons. Some were okay. Some were rougher. I didn't mind it at all, since I got to drive long distances on the traffic-free highways of south Georgia. It was actually kind of enjoyable to put the music on and drive.

The school that went into the prisons ran into trouble. There were inmates who had dropped out of the program and the money was routed to students who played baseball. I don't know the full story beyond there was a big investigation and a lot of us faculty members fell off the bottom. Isn't that the way it goes? The upper levels cause the problem and the lower levels pay the price. It turned out okay. I was able to get another job before unemployment ran out.

One thing I liked about going into prisons -- Students who got degrees didn't usually go back. Education can change the way people think about the world and themselves.

Oh, and I also like Bearonica!

Jessie, thanks for the insight and background on ITT. I wasn't aware it was acting in a lending capacity. I did wonder why it was only mentioned briefly in the documentary. I'll have to do some more research some day - a nice cold rainy day perhaps.

I suspect there are more horror stories out there about students' dashed hopes as well as private college scams. Sometimes it just becomes so overwhelming how much abuse there is of federal funds, and how some people and organizations just seem to focus on ways to slide through life on someone else's dime.

For some reason I thought your background was in health care; I wasn't aware you were an academic. What did you teach? Did you teach in prisons? I would think could be a very unsettling experience, not only b/c of the proximity to the prisoners but the intense security, being locked in, feeling trapped.

I was only in jail once, when I was a court reporter and was called one evening to go to the county jail to take a statement from someone who had accidentally shot his friend. It was an unsetttling experience.

As to the blue hats, I happen to like royal blue. Now we've got the baby colors integrated, but we all know we're far from babies in our caregiving roles!

I think my hat is Royal Blue too, 13 year'sand counting? Yep, I think that I qualify! I like blue better anyways, goes better with my blonde hair and blue eyes! Lol!

BTW, I don't have a pink helmet. I have a royal blue one reserved for caregivers of people who are kind of nutty. I know of a few other people on here that qualify for royal blue. The royal blue helmets are harder so we don't hurt our heads when we bump them on the wall.

And personally guys, I think we should call Beronica Bearonica. Our friend is a definite fighter. She's been through it all and come out still fighting. You go, Bearonica.

GA, thank you for talking about the for-profit colleges. ITT Tech had some problem because it was serving as the lender for the government backed student loans. I don't know the full story there. Many people criticized the government for hurting the ITT Tech students by forcing accreditation issues. I worked in colleges for 25 years and know that nothing was out of the norm for what the state and fed governments were doing. There has to be oversight and there can be abuse of student aid programs. I worked for one college in south Georgia that got in serious trouble for trying to trick the government when it came to student aid. Many of us were laid off because of this. I understand a lot about how these things work. (I also understand accreditation procedures and know that ITT Tech would have not closed so quickly if something had not been wrong.)

Now about the prisons -- when I taught in south Georgia, I went into 12 of the state and federal prisons. Dental and eye care were excellent. Other health care was sub-par but adequate. In my six years going into the prisons I saw a lot, but never saw any cafeteria health services for inmates. It was the basics that were available in the surrounding communities. There was a doctor that would come in from the community on certain days and community nurses at other times. Nothing great.

Go Pink Hatters!

Babalou: LGBT=no prob. Agreed, even with taxpayers.

zytrhr: The only thing wrong with "the three sqaures a day" is that, depending on the crime, you may be in line for the hot seat.