Summersit, Medicaid will not force them to sell their home BUT the sale of it will afford them much better choices of nursing home facilities. The son can buy the house for fair market value only. If they give it to him or anyone, Medicaid won't pay the nursing home. They really should sit down with an estate planning attorney ASAP. Yes there is a five year rule, but it doesn't sound like they can wait another five years.
All of us would like an inheritance. With lives being longer now and end-of-life care being so expensive, estates are not what they used to be. If a family squirrels away resources, it simply means that the financial burden switches to the taxpayers. If assets are transferred or gifted within 5 years of applying for Medicaid, there is a penalty equivalent to the amount given away. This is to protect the money that the government has budgeted for Medicaid so that the people who need help can receive it.
There are certain ways to work with the laws of Medicaid to save money. For example, if a caregiving child lives with a parent for two or more years and it is shown that staying there allowed the parent to stay out of a nursing home. The house may qualify for a caregiver child exemption. There are also trusts, but these get tricky and are not a do-it-yourself project.
But no, you can't just put assets in someone else's names. Medicaid workers will see the transfers when they look at financial records. Certain assets, such as the home or a car, are not countable when someone applies to Medicaid, but a lien can be placed on them. No money will be available to pay taxes or upkeep, so a family may want to consider selling these assets if no one is using them.
There is a lot on the site about Medicaid. If you think you may need to apply, you may want to read some of the things that are written about both application and also MERP.
My inlaws are both going down in health and will probably need nursing ho.e care soon. Can you tell me if their assests will be sold to pay for care or can they put it in their sons name to prevent that from happening. .is there something about 5 yearsprior to needing goverment assistance in putting their assessts into someone elses name
An elder lawyer in your county would be able to advise you but mostly any assest belonging to the person going into the NH has to be changed 5 yrs before appling to medicaide especially any amount $2000.00 or greater-but the rules do change so you need up to date info-I do not know about divorce we were married when I started applieing for medicaide and he died 3 days after our NH insurance ran out and never was on medicaide.
BB54 - legally you probably are only responsible for 50% but the HOA or trailer park isn't going to care about that as they want to be paid 100% as will the utilities, phone companies, etc.If you are listed on the bills or deeds, they will come to you for the $. If it gets to the collection agency stage, it won't be pretty. You really should find an elder care attorney to sort all this out now.
If your mom's only source of income is her SS or other federally covered retirement, then it can't be touched by collection. It is federally protected from this happening. You however aren't in that situation if you have a regular income.
Your post is on a thread from April, 2011. So you might want to post your ? as a spankking new ? to get more ideas from this forum. Good Luck.
As the others have said you need to see an elder lawyer right away to get advice -he or she will give you advice because they will no what is available in your area and you will get the answers you need and then go from there-that has to be your first step and the only one you need.
My mother has been put in a nursing home.She owns a manufactured home. I am also on the deed even though I have never lived there.Am I responsible for 100% of the park rent,heat,electric,insurance etc. Or am I liable for 50%? Also,if we do sell the house can I get back the amount that I paid into the upkeep of the house?
1st thing that popped in my head was having a conversation with Mom and explaining that the only way to safeguard her possessions (assets) is to sign them over to you without coming across as a vulture. No insult intended. I've met many in this forum who've dedicated most of their adult lives to caring for their parents and expecting nothing in return. Theirs -- as yours -- is a labor of love, yet many parents believe their offspring can't wait for them to die or be committed somewhere so they can divvy up what's left behind: money, home, car, jewelry, pots, pans, birds, and other scraps with potential monetary value.
But yes Lewis, do seek out an elder attorney and their expert advice. Good luck my friend, and let us know what happens.
You will get a lot of advice here with good intentions, including mine. But you really should see an elder attorney. You also need to make some visits to nursing homes. To admit someone to a Medicaid bed in a nursing home certainly does not give the patient (your mom) the most options. In our area that means no private room, sometimes a 4 bed ward. Other very nice places will take someone if they have a year of private pay and then convert to medicaid with little difference. The ability to transfer assests and pass the 5 year look back certainly requires a lot of trust between parent and children. Find an elder care attorney for your mom to discuss all of this with, if she is not competent then hopefully you have her POA and can discuss future planning for her. Hope you learn things that are helpful.
There are certain ways to work with the laws of Medicaid to save money. For example, if a caregiving child lives with a parent for two or more years and it is shown that staying there allowed the parent to stay out of a nursing home. The house may qualify for a caregiver child exemption. There are also trusts, but these get tricky and are not a do-it-yourself project.
But no, you can't just put assets in someone else's names. Medicaid workers will see the transfers when they look at financial records. Certain assets, such as the home or a car, are not countable when someone applies to Medicaid, but a lien can be placed on them. No money will be available to pay taxes or upkeep, so a family may want to consider selling these assets if no one is using them.
There is a lot on the site about Medicaid. If you think you may need to apply, you may want to read some of the things that are written about both application and also MERP.
.is there something about 5 yearsprior to needing goverment assistance in putting their assessts into someone elses name
If your mom's only source of income is her SS or other federally covered retirement, then it can't be touched by collection. It is federally protected from this happening. You however aren't in that situation if you have a regular income.
Your post is on a thread from April, 2011. So you might want to post your ? as a spankking new ? to get more ideas from this forum. Good Luck.
1st thing that popped in my head was having a conversation with Mom and explaining that the only way to safeguard her possessions (assets) is to sign them over to you without coming across as a vulture. No insult intended. I've met many in this forum who've dedicated most of their adult lives to caring for their parents and expecting nothing in return. Theirs -- as yours -- is a labor of love, yet many parents believe their offspring can't wait for them to die or be committed somewhere so they can divvy up what's left behind: money, home, car, jewelry, pots, pans, birds, and other scraps with potential monetary value.
But yes Lewis, do seek out an elder attorney and their expert advice. Good luck my friend, and let us know what happens.
-- ED