Hi everyone
Dad moved in with us a few months ago. He does not own a home. We will be looking at Medicaid nursing home in a near future. I was wondering if he can pay for the repairs of our home since he is living here now without it being counted for penalty during Medicaid look back. We have been using his debit caard to pay for every day expenses like groceries and doctors visits but was wondering if we could make a bigger purchase since we have to adapt the house.
What you CAN do if you are POA and even if not and if your father doens't have dementia, is go to an elder law attorney and make out a care contract. This would include shared living expenses for mortgage, repairs and maintenance and upkeep as well as food, transportation, needed adjustments for living space and etc. Careful record keeping required and on you go. Be certain you don't put in "rental" which is income and has tax consequences, but rather "shared living costs" which doesn't . This attorney for an hour of time can answer many other questions for you as well and it's crucial you get this right for your father's sake.
Even if you are his FPoA I would not do it since most states' Medicaid lookback period can be 5 years and they'd most likely see this transaction as gifting, which would delay or disqualify him from receiving this benefit.
You can consult an elder law attorney and/or a Medicaid Planner for your home state to confirm. *Maybe* if the remodeling/adaptations directly benefited only him? But again, definitely consult a professional.
You don't want to do anything that is going to hurt him in the future with being eligible for Medicaid, and that will only benefit you. There's something just not right about that.
It’s a legal and moral duty to raise your children. It’s not possible to ‘raise’ your parents. You have no obligation or duty to pay their bills, though you can if you want to AND have enough spare money. Would the ‘one dime’ you never took from him, have added to other dimes you earned yourself by working long hours on the minimum wage? Perhaps not.