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Mom has Medicare & Private Ins now and a trust with $100,000 in it. Her home is falling apart and needs work to keep it safe for her to live in due to deterioration and some termite damage as well as repairs to a leak under her driveway.

If I have to spend that money or a portion of it to get her home back into a safe condition and she then becomes ill enough to need Medicaid in the future, will they do a look back and determine that she cannot be eligible for care through Medicaid?

Also i have been caring for her for 7 years and my father before that with no pay. I am living in the house with Mom and my daughter is here as well. Will they take that into consideration, that I kept her out of a facility for this long by being here?

I have two other siblings and Mom's house in is her trust and was deeded to us in the 1990's.

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Wyndie, sometimes you have no choice but to repair the house. My FIL in in rehab at a nursing home and most likely will not be able to return home. The nursing home social workers and nurses have suggested to sell his home and car and put the money in the account for him.
Problem is, there were repairs needed to be done to the home and he did not do them. Next problem? The house is unable to be sold it is in so much disrepair. It is so bad in fact, the back of the house is coming off and it has now affected the side of the house. It needs to be jacked up and stabalized and will come at a cost of around 10 grand to do so.
So it is going to have to be repaired first. I know, a mess.
Good luck with your situation and hugs.
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Wynd -yeah you are juggling and one of the balls is on fire....

If mom wants & needs to spend 13K on a new central AC system on her house, and $ 3K to replace a termite ridden window and 8K for new sheetrock and studs for the termite wall - then it is totally OK that she spends HER money that way. Her $$ can and should be spend on her, her needs and her property. Really should be no Medicaid issue on that. It's when mom gives $ 3K to Daughter # 1 and 13K to her grandchild to pay for their tuition, that it is an issue as that is totally gifting and a no-no for Medicaid.

yeah the whole trust thing is complicated and really varies by state. It's not simple and easy to be confused. I'm not an attorney but was executrix twice (1 estate was super complex and took a full 4 years) and am pretty OCD on paperwork and details in general and really you need good experience legal to guide you to your best advantage when dealing with Medicaid when there are trusts involved. If you can't afford an attorney, I'd call the local law school and they should have a monthly pro-bono clinic that you can go to. Good luck and keep that sense of humor going.
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To Igloo572: We had to update a couple sections of her Trust about 2 years ago with an attorney who told me that he had set up everything to protect us in the future although the Trust was originated in 1990's. So I thought we were all set, now to hear that the Trust has to be Irrevocable vs Revocable has got me worried.

This house is paid for and the only thing we pay are utilities and taxes so moving from here would not be a smart idea at least financially, plus with my mother's dementia, she would not do well being in another environment. I am hoping that I am able to keep Mom at home until she passes away or becomes so ill I am unable to care for her.

Her house is about 60 years old and because her and my father were very frugal they either repaired everything or it just sat there. Now we just had to have a leak under the driveway fixed which meant tearing up the driveway and there is a gaping hole that we have to try and maneuver around, we have termites in the family room and I am honestly afraid that we will have a quake and the room will fall. I am just worried about spending her money on these things when she may need it down the road, but if I don't fix the necessities she won't be able to keep living here (especially if the room would fall!).

After hearing about the 5 year look back I just wonder what they would do if they saw she had $100,000 and now she might only have $25,000 or less so what would MediCal do? I feel like I am in the midst of a juggling act and just don't know what to do.
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Wyndie - really you should get all your mom's documents together and the deeds on the house, etc and go an see an elder care attorney or an estate attorney. How the trust was done (like revocable vs. irrevocable) will make a critical difference and the nuances on how state laws differ really need an good attorney to ferret through and give you options. Was it perchance done as a life estate?

One thing you might consider is having mom sell the house and get a newer one that works better for her, you and your daughter. The trust could possibly pay for the house but that is a legal ? to work out. It sounds like you will qualify for the caregiving exemption for Medicaid Estate Recovery so that won't be an issue for you in that your continued living at the house & inheirting it. But if the house is supposed to be shared by you & your siblings, then that is something to work out.

If the house is old and having significant issues, as time goes by both the house and mom will be needing things done for them......it could get to the point that you won't have the $ to maintain the house or it drains the trust $. It's a good real estate market right now too, so maybe look into that possibility. My mom is in a NH and still has her home - which I & another family member pay all for the empty house - it's old & in a historic district and when something goes amiss can be quite a PIA to deal with as no running down to Home Depot for a replacement. Now for us, it's feasible & and it's like dealing with a 2nd home so if the refrigerator goes out, it's a problem but it can wait to be dealt with on the next trip in. If you are living at the house, you can't do that. You need to thinks ahead & if you are not working & don't have your own income and mom goes into a NH and applies for Medicaid, she will have to pay all her income (like her SS and retirement) to the NH for her required co-pay. She will be allowed a small personal needs allowance each month (from $ 35 -90 a month), so all the things like taxes, insurance, repairs, etc. Mom will realistically not have the funds to pay for anything on the house anymore. Who is going to pay all this for the possible years & years she is in the NH? A smaller, newer less expensive home might be better for now and the future. It's alot to deal with but it's good you are thinking about all this right now and before you are in the panic situation of having to find a place for mom mañana.
Good luck, see the attorney and keep a sense of humor!
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