How do I go about having the house signed over to me?

Now is the time to talk to an elder law attorney who practices in your area.

If your mother's physician is able to certify that you have cared for your mother for two years, and the care you provided has saved her from an earlier nursing home admission, the house transfer could be covered by the "caregiver child" exception, protecting your mother's eligibility for Medicaid if it is needed to pay for nursing home care.

But there are regulations, details and timing factors that must be considered. Example: your mother can't claim the caregiver child exception for the house if she first moves to assisted living and then to a nursing home. And if her level of care before the stroke didn't require your live in assistance, then the years leading up to the stroke probably won't count toward the 2 years that are required. The elder law attorney can guide you to the best approach, based on the care needs and assessments of your mother's physicians and discharge planners.

Your family dynamics, such as sibling relationships mentioned by others who responded to your question today, are equally important. The elder law attorney can give you an objective view of all the things you need to consider, before a decision is made to transfer the real estate.

Heed the advice of Igloo572 especially the part of seeking advice from an elder law attorney. Please, please, please don't rely on the case manager from medicaid, staff from her rehab/nursing home or other well-meaning folks who are not attorneys practicing law in your state.

My Mom placed her house in a Trust several years ago. Will it still have to go through probate? If not, is there anything else we can do so that it is a smooth process/transfer when the times comes?

Igloo, re the whole QCD issue; dealing with that with hub's family, although I think we're past the 5 yr. lookback period; been more like 10 yrs.
been more the lack of guarantee of ownership; fil passed away; he'd somewhat started the process but only finished it with some of the kids, but not us, so mil, somewhat with having made granddaughter POA, finished it up, but didn't really know anything, so lawyer just finished up doing what fil had had him do with the one he originally had done but he'd bought his property piecemeal from his uncle, who had already passed away when fil had, with no deeds for most of it, except the piece the original house is on, and ours, so no legal chain on the property, which explained why it had been stated down through the years the property could only be sold within the family,
Now, having said that, they all think we're in good shape because our property is one that has a deed but when we got it we also got a visit from uncle's widow, who he actually got the deed from after uncle passed away; only problem is her name had not been on that original deed so she didn't actually have full ownership to the property so when he passed away she only had half ownership and the other half was passed to their 3 children so, yes, we definitely have a conflicting heir issue, with one of them definitely causing conflict going back to before he passed away, but went to see her - maybe not a good time, but got it done - when said widow was in the hospital - and she pretty much brought it up that she didn't believe fil ever even bought the property and knew when he had her sign the deed and when he had the property surveyed but opted not to do anything as long as her mother was alive and now that she soon wasn't going to be she still wasn't going to initiate anything - she and her siblings had already sold the rest of the property, not even really sure how they handled their mother with that, since she said she hadn't known anything about it, but that's not my problem, and moved her off it - anyway she was just going to wait us out if we ever decided we wanted to get a mortgage on it, so since mil's granddaughter/POA works at the biggest credit union around, hub asked her to check into it; she talked to their attorney, who basically confirmed what you said, except he pretty much said nothing could be done, assuming he meant without quieting the title; now, since we know who's claiming title, don't know if we'd have to do the publication or maybe the thing would be to do it without contacting them and see if they see it and contact us; I was concerned they'd be checking at the courthouse re the deed, why I didn't want to record it, but say they not worried about it; think they're expecting to be contacted when the time came, not sure if they'd be checking legal notices in the paper or not; think could possibly get by with that?

Talking to a lawyer and looking into putting everything into a Trust with you as POA may be the way to go. Everything belongs to your loved one, but you control it and keep the assets safe. As we live with my mother in her house during the summertime, my WWS Wicked Witch Sister regularly drives past my mother's house with her car full of flying monkeys watching for my mother to die. She recently confronted me on mom's property asking if mom had died. (Mom is alive and my family keeps her very happy despite her memory loss.) I am the POA and sole heir. My answer to WWS was "Leave immediately." She refused. My rejoinder was "Leave immediately. If you ever return I will have you arrested." Then I began to count 10...9....8...7. She left and so far I haven't heard anything else from her. Yes my friends, it can get ugly even if you have your paperwork in order.

well, guvna, one reason might just be the responsibility of the upkeep of the house; now, like, in my case, it was dad's grandson who he got to move in with him - not sure if he quite made it 2 years, but he did try to get dad to sign the house over to him but he never would do it; had willed it to me and said he wanted me to have it; now I hadn't thought about the "step-up" value; not sure how he would have handled that had dad done it; how did your sister, guvna? now dad never did have to go to a nh, so, yes, son being there possibly definitely kept him out for those 2 yrs., as in not sure what I would have done otherwise but also not sure I would have felt I had to put him in, either, but a lot might have depended on the house issue; now right at the end of those 2 yrs. it was getting to be more of an issue but it didn't quite get there but then grandson was afraid he was going to be put out and also re igloo's comment; yes, dad's house's assessor value is definitely totally out of whack and they'd told me originally they would come out and assess the inside at my invitation but then when I went to have it done, at the time allotted that they said I would have to protest their valuation and request it, they said, no, they never said that, that they only way they would re-evaluate was for me to have it officially appraised, which I was going to have done by the bank, but they wouldn't do it until and unless I could get it insured, which the very first thing that had happened was they cancelled his insurance because of the outside condition of his house, so I didn't throw grandson out - various reasons, but led to him being there for a year without going into dad's bedroom where he passed away so when he did found there had been a leak and quite a big of new damage had been done, as well as other things that happened, like the heating going out, which, one, I would have had to deal with had I not allowed him to stay but it did take him a while to, but he did take care of things in such a way that it didn't cause more damage but it took a while to completely take care of the damage to his bedroom - and also his bathroom, which did get taken care of sooner, but took over a year for the bedroom, but he did take care of it, which, again, I would have had to have done had I not allowed him to stay, all of which to say helps explain the difference in actual value of the house vs assessor value but doesn't matter to them, plus, yes, he had homestead exemption, which also goes away.
And, yes, Jessie, grandson did basically have to put himself at poverty level; something he had a hard time reaching the point of being willing to do to move in with dad and become his primary caregiver and make that his primary residence and give up what he was doing to make a living; one reason I was glad to be able to get him the Veteran's A&A; guess I'd somewhat forgotten this was all about MERP recovery, which we never had to get into, but guess was morphing from their reasoning re not taking the house from the primary caregiver re my question re their getting paid, so now, Jessie, are you saying they don't necessarily not take the house; they just factor in an amount the 2 yrs. of caregiving was worth and depending on the value of the house decide whether they do or don't take it?

Berence: Retain an attorney who can assist you with your questions. It will be worth it in the long run.

Also, by the way, can anybody speak to why it might be better NOT to be on the deed to the parent's house, even if you are the oldest sibling and it was done underhandedly? Maybe the problems will outweigh the advantages and the TS will get what they deserve? I am POA and Executor with Health Care proxy. Prior to God bringing me back here, the TS had excluded me from everything!

I too have a twisted Sister and it is only the two of us and Mum is ninety-two. Sometime about eleven years ago, after Mum had some sort of "nervous breakdown" and I was many states away doing my thing, the TS convinced Mum to deed the house to her. This is in NY Stat. As luck would have it, I had to return "home" via hard times and found out about this underhanded "deed" by the TS and more. Since then they fled and I have been helping Mum for over three years now. Lawyers say only Mum can pursuade the TS to deed the house back so she can re-divide it half-and-half yet the TS stonewalls and Mum's push-back ability is almost nil now. I wish I could find a clause like one of you mentioned in this thread,l that would give me a stake in my birthright as the oldest by fourteen years and only son, to thwart the TS from claiming property and possibly throwing me out, should the worst case scenarion take place before I can bet back to self-sufficiency. Any ideas? I feel for all those going through "the unexpected". Life used to be FUN. I am sixty three, by-the-way.

JessieBelle point about taxes, "step-up value" on property is spot-on.
It this sort of very expensive glitch that we don't think about if the hurry & flurry & panic of getting a parent into a facility.

Regarding the Quit Claim suggestions ---- although a QCD can seem to be simple easy DIY way to transfer ownership, a QCD can poses problem later on.....
-those who apply for medicaid the QCD will be viewed as "gifting" & pose a transfer penalty which makes then ineligible for Medicaid PLUS the the penalty is whatever the tax assessor value at the time of transfer. Assessor value could be totally whack for realistic property value but all that doesn't matter. It's what assessor has placed. If your parent has their taxes frozen due to elder benefits, they may not ever paid attention to huge increases in property value as it hasn't affected them. But the supposed value will affect them, when it's placed as a huge penalty against them if they apply for medicaid.
- an issue for QCD is that it does not convey a guarantee of ownership. QCD conveys what the person signing the QCD "thinks" is their ownership of the property. Only a Warranty Deed guarantees ownership and how a WD is done involves delving into title to do this. Often property done QCD is done within family and property passes down via prior QCD without clearing out old title, heirship, liens, judgements issues. It's all still there and can become a flaw in ownership. If the "new" via a QCD owner goes to get any equity lending on the property, the bank may not do it as there is no guarantee of ownership as its a QCD.

Banks & mortgage co are totally skittish on doing paper on QCD property as there could be conflicting heirs, claims, etc out there. Theres just no clean pure guarantee of ownership. QCD is risk for lending. Lenders could require a Quiet Title Action to be done & cleared before any lending done. Quiet then gets added onto the legal chain on the property filed at the courthouse. Quiet is maybe a 3-6 to 10 month process as there's notifications in publications required (kinda like the Notice to Creditors done for probate). Quiet isnt expensive to be done but needs an atty. who has experience in this aspect of real estate & probate law. The one I've used his main work is doing site selection ownership clearance for bigger development but does some Quiet for probate attys or for tax sale buys; about 2k and allow a year to totally wrap up. For the usual real estate sale, the time needed for Quiet kills any deals.

Really truly a Warranty Deed will be better than a Quit Claim Deed.

Does she want you to have the house? One wise move on your part is to see if she has a will or any other accounts with probate such as a transfer on death. You would hate to transfer the house to yourself only to have to turn it over to the rightful person later on if someone other than you is mentioned in the will. You really want to look before you leave because you want want to regret it later. If someone else is mentioned in the will or she set up a transfer on death of her home to someone else, you really want and want to go through the stress and embarrassment of having to undo the home transfer to yourself, so do your research before doing this, and do your research very well. Be very wary though not to negatively influence her, this is called undue influence, so be very careful. Sometimes people even do it unintentionally and they mean well, but don't cross that line, be very careful during this time.

BTW, the home has to be the caregiving child's primary residence and if they had a job while doing the caregiving, there is a lot of difficulty qualifying. One can't work and be a FT caregiver, so it can automatically disqualify. Very difficult, since it is saying the person has to have put themselves in the way of poverty in order to qualify to keep the house.

When I think of these things it makes me wish we had good quality elder care at affordable prices. It is like all the middle-class resources are being vacuumed off at the end of life.

I didn't realize mom was on Medicaid. I tried to take the name of my step-son's mother off the Deed in CO, and put him on it since he is living with her in the house. However, this was blocked by Medicaid who wants pay-back when she dies for all the care they have provided. A real estate attorney with Medicaid knowledge would be in order. Ours was not complicated as I mentioned earlier.

debdaughter, there are strict rules on qualifying. I know that the caregiving child has to have lived at the residence at least two years before a NH was needed. It has to be shown that the child was a full-time caregiver and him/her being there allowed the elder to avoid the NH during that time. I do not know if there is any mention if the child was paid or not. I wouldn't be surprised if there is, since even when MERP recovery is being done, the value of caregiver service is considered in what the state takes and what it allows the caregiving heir to keep. If the child was being paid, it would make a difference with MERP. I would only trust someone who is knowledgeable about Medicaid for my state to tell me what is best to do.

Go to you area council on aging for an elder care lawyer. If your mother needs to go on Medicaid you could make her ineligible if you don't follow the law. Beware, not all lawyers are knowledgeable about Medicaid. I handled my FIL's Medicaid application and, now that we are settling his estate we've discovered that I know more about the Medicaid process and requirements than the lawyer; which he freely admits.

Does this only apply if the caregiver wasn't getting paid?

There is a special provision for Medicaid penalty-free transfer of a residence to a qualifying caregiving child. You have to be very careful with this, however. I wouldn't consider house transfer a DIY project. Hiring someone who knows what they are doing would be worth the money. One thing I don't know are the tax consequences for transfer while your mother is still alive. I don't not know if the basis of the house would be what your parents paid or the appraisal value is at the time of transfer. I would check into that. If you inherit the house after your mother passes, then the basis of the house will be the appraised value when you inherited it. If you transfer the title, then it is the price your parents paid. This will have large capital gains tax implications should you decide to sell the house. It is worth your time to find out the right answer. Maybe someone here knows.

If she is competent, you can do a Quit-Claim Deed which can be found online, have it notarized, take it to your county assessor's office to be filed and recorded and that's it. Did mine on Jan. 1.

We researched that there is a special provision for caregivers to take over the ownership of their family member's home, but this was for NJ. Not all states have this, most do not. I think.

when my dad was in hospice care, I wanted to get rid of his properties to prevent the need for probate after his death. I gave some of his property to a cousin. It was very easy. First, I had full/durable Power of Attorney. Then I printed off a Quitclaim Deed form from the Internet. I called the county clerks office and they told me it cost a few dollars per page to process. I completed the for, mailed it, a check and the original PoA to the county clerk. -done.

Yes, if you have siblings they will come out of the woodwork. You provided free care for your mom and they will still want their inheritance. Sibs think of the care you provided paid for since you most likely did not pay rent or other expenses while living there. They do not stop to think that care at home by someone else would costin the area of 10K a month,perhaps more. A memory care in the area of 6K a month. Nursing home about 12K a month. You need an attorney that specializes in Medicaid Planning. That can be on mom's dollar as you are doing the planning for her. Do you have mom's POA's? That piece is very important, but be very careful that you do not forget actions under POA must always be in Mom's best interest.

The situation with my twisted sisters became very ugly and their vindictiveness reigned. I did not get the house, but I did receive payment for three years of the care I provided through a court order, an action brought by the TS's trying to accuse me of financial exploitation. One of TS had mom's POA's and she KNEW there was no exploitation of any sort occuring. She spent a whole wad of moms money on attorneys. When the time comes, I will attempt to have the court award the estate the money spent by the twisteds for attorneys to protect their inheritance. For now everything that remains should be spent for mom's care.

I am in the throws of the Medicaid process and transferring the house. I qualified under the caregiver child exemption to receive the house. This can stir up ill will in the family. My suggestion is get an attorney that specializes in elder law. He/she can advise you through the process. It can be an emotional time too for you. Caregiving doesn't stop when a parent enters a nursing home. You still need to be an advocate.

Sweetie, I hope your mom is okay, I've seen a lot of people have strokes and bounce back. Everytime, I'm in awe of the human body and it's ability to heal itself with a little physical therapy. You need to speak with a good attorney. You need to get a pen in your mother's hand and have her sign her name to all the paperwork your attorney provides ASAP. If you are an only child, this will be easy. If you have siblings (even if you haven't seen them in 14 years) they will pop out of no where for a battle, believe me! Did your mom need care for 14 years? ...or did you? My brother moved into my mom's house after my dad died, and it was not for my mom's benefit, but his. Why do you want her house? I would sell it and put the money into the best care possible for your mom or maybe she has money for full time care in her home. If you are concerned about your own security and want that house, that is wrong! Are you an only child? Everything depends on that fact...

If mom is going to need to apply to Medicaid to pay for the NH, she cannot simply sign over the house to you as it would be considered "gifting" of an asset and a transfer penalty placed against mom for the $ amount of the last tax assessor value of house. BUT if you provided caregiving for mom for at least 2years that kept mom out of a N.h and off of Medicaid, yiu can request an exemption to get the house.

Now just how the exemption needs to be done will depend on your states' Medicaid program. It's a ? to ask the caseworker. Personally I think you need an atty in all this both to shepherd the caregiver exemption AND do a deed of trust on the property all correct & legal to place on the property & file at the courthouse.

It's too late for mom to do a Quit Claim as anything involving Medicaid would have needed to be filed and recorded prior to June 2011.

Are you aware of moms copay aka her SOC (share of cost) of her monthly income requirement by medicaid? The SOC requires that basically all of moms $ must be paid to the NH. She only gets a small personal needs allowance (most states have this at $60 a mo). Mom will have no-nada-nothing $ anymore to pay on the house. All costs on the house from day 1 of moms medicaid application must be paid by you or other family members to keep the house going & paying insurance, utkities, taxes, etc. I'd try to put pen to paper ASAP to see the situation on household finances. Sometimes family end up moving the elder back home & continuing to caregive for free as moms income is needed to keep household afloat. A most difficult & stressful situation and not ideal for everbody involved but sometimes is the only way to balance out needs of a caregiver who finds themselves low income after a decade of free caregiving and a mom with solid, guaranteed income.