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I've been living with and caring for my 86 year old mom for the past 5 years in my mom's home. She cannot live alone because of dementia. She is going to have to go to a nursing home soon because her dementia is getting worse and she is getting very hard to handle: hallucinations, outbursts of anger and rage, and violent dreams. My mom owns her home and has no spouse and the house is in her name only. She does not have cash funds to pay for a nursing home except for her Social Security income. Her only asset is her house. Will Medicaid take her house to pay for the nursing home? Is there anyway I can legally keep the house once she goes to a nursing home?

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You probably can keep it if you have been caring for her, and kept her out of the NH by caring for her. That's the law as I understand it.
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She can probably deed it to you, without penalty, if you have kept her out of a care center she would otherwise have needed.
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Speak to an elder attorney. Talk to them about the payback period for Medicaid.
If she deeds you the home, there is a payback period for Medicaid. I believe it is 5 years. If she lives five more years then there isn't a penalty.
If she should die before that time then Medicaid will want a portion of those funds back.
If the house is paid for, then you could probably take out a loan to pay back Medicaid what they need.
The sooner you are able to get the deed in your name, then the sooner the clock starts ticking for Medicaid.
If she does go into a nursing home, and qualifies for Medicaid, which she should, then you will be able to live in the home until she passes. Then the above issues come into play.

Talk to an attorney. The small fee that they charge is well worth it.
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sorry to say but yes the house will need to be sold and the money spent for her care and then you can apply for medicaid to cover the nursing home, as I just went through that myself, no home to sell but went through the medicaid process and got my mom into a nursing home, best wishes and many prayers
going to have to disagree with pink as the laws have changed now, the penalty would be the value of the home and you would be responible for paying for her nursing home care until the amount the home is worth.
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Get a lawyer and cover your ass. I agree with getting a loan if you have to to pay for the nursing home...better that then facing the streets after all these years of not being able to work. I think the way the system works is absolutely ridiculous, that the freaking government will take the only house a care giver has and fully expect them to be willing to beggar themselves AFTER that same care giver has saved them BILLIONS(all of us combined)a year thanks to OUR hard work! What, give up our own jobs out of necessity, be out of the work force for years to our own detriment, then give up the only roof we have over our heads? Hell no. Get a lawyer. Fast. Or get your mom on some serious drugs to calm her down so she's manageable. I would try drugs first.
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Definitely see an Lawyer who specializes in Senior Laws... The sooner you start the legal system going the better...
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You should be able to keep your mother's house if you lived with her and cared for her in her house for 2 years prior to her going into a nursing home. I suggest you contact at least 3 Elderlaw attorneys before doing anything. Look for smaller firms or sole practioners who may give you a free consultation over the phone especially if they think they will get the Medicaid application case. But before you even contact the attorneys, research yourself online. Google something like "Medicaid parents house caregiver exception". You will learn a lot and be more prepared before you even talk to an attorney. There are so many helpful sites and articles on this if you just search for them using the correct wording. The reason behind the caregiver exception is that by caring for your parent in her house for at least 2 years you kept her out a nursing home and thus saved them money. If they allow you to transfer the deed using the care giver excemption, then do it but make sure your mother qualifies for Medicaid before you do this. Good luck!
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Definitely see an elder care attorney - a lawyer fast. I think you have your answer! They will help you know what steps to take.

Good luck!

-SS
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Elf, I did google that Medicaid Child Exemption.... Hell to the freaking YES. If an adult child has lived in the parents home for more than 2 years, has provided the care and kept that parent out of a nursing home, then they can't take the house. That's what I'm talkin' about, baby! Thanks SO much for that tip! :D
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Must remember to log in before I try and post. If I have written the post and then log in and go back to submit my post has gone. Fortunately I was saying the same thing as Elf so job done. go for it!
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you should check the AVVO website where you can receive free attorney input as well as ratings of them.
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Medicaid will take title to the house, but you will be allowed to stay there. You cannot sell it, but they won't put you out on the street. Read any and all notices that come to the house and make sure you can prove that you have been there for five years.
For example, if your drivers license shows another address or the board of elections shows another address, you will have to prove where you live.
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Please please see an attorney well versed in Medicaid laws of your state as each state has different laws and they keep changing. You don't want to live with the fear of losing the house nor getting any surprises when your mom passes.
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I wouldn't take what you read online as the gospel truth. Misinformation, changing laws can all be misleading. As someone mentioned, get a free consultation with an elder law attorney to make sure you are covered by the laws in your state. Good luck!
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Your mother should either SELL her house to you, and/or have a lawyer prepare a new Warranty Deed, giving you ownership in the property as sole owner or as tenants-in-common with her. ( I don't think that Joint Tenancy applies in this case, but I may be wrong). Register the new Deed at the courthouse in the county in which you/she is domiciled.
Now what to do with the assets from the sale: She does not have to sell the house at the appraised value. She can sell it to you for a very small amount, and "other valuable consideration", according to the law.
She can then apply for Medicaid, or if she already has it, will allow some help in paying for the Nursing Home, if you so choose to go that way. Consult an elder-care atorney.
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When I spoke to an Elder Attorney, a couple months ago, for initial consultation, this was mentioned.. The parent (person) may own one home and one vehicle w/o any determent to Medicaid application. As for cost of legal representation, surely it varies...greatly in this area; then again the old adage of 'you get what you pay for.' The firm I have chosen required two thousand in escrow and two hundred & forty per hour. It's not an easy road we are on, nor is it inexpensive. We do what we can and pray for the guidance of the Deity.
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Wow, great information on this site. Never knew about the caregiver exemption, not that it applies to me.
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And, yes, ejbunicom, the penalty is the value of the house. We sold my mom's house for $61,000. Our penalty period was what Medicaid determines is a reasonable allowance for care ($5000/month). The penalty period for us is 12 months ($5,000*12) roughly $61,000. That means that we are not able to apply for Medicaid benefits for my mother for 12 months after the closing of the house sale.
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I wish there were an edit/delete button on this forum.
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As others have said, there is an exception to the gift rules if a parent transfers the home to the child who has cared for the parent (and lived in the same house) for at least 2 years immediately preceding the date the parent entered the nursing home. You will need a physician's statement that your care was necessary to delay your mother needing nursing home care.
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@ Standingalone - Glad you liked the child care giver exemption law and love your fiesty comments. There are other exemptions too. "Standing alone" just about it says it all since thats basically what we're doing when we are forced into these situations while trying to do the best for our aging parents. Dealing with my 92 year old father-in-law and Medicaid during the last 5 years, I have read and researched this subject ad-nauseum and sadly I know more than most "expert" Elderlaw attorneys out there. Research, research and then research some more. In most cases, you can find the information yourself online rather than pay $450 per hour for some attorney to look up the same info himself online. After you've exhausted all your online research THEN pay the attorney for a consultation or do the actual Medicaid application. Research is not a substitute for legal advice but you have to be fore-armed and knowledge is power in protecting yourself and what is rightfully yours or your parents assets do to their hard work.
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Would it be helpful to have the house in both your names ?
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If it is in both names as "tenants in common", Medicaid will take the whole thing, same with bank accounts. Trivetann is in Arizona, which has a five-year look back and strict penalties. Read:
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It is always best to take the house out of the name of the individual in the nursing home, if they will be receiving Medicaid benefits. That is because federal law requires that the state file a claim for the Medicaid benefits it paid out, once the recipient dies. If the house is not in the recipient's name at death, the state cannot touch it.

That said, note that unless one of the exceptions applies, there will be a long period of disqualification from Medicaid if the nursing home resident applies for Medicaid within five years of taking their name off the deed. I discuss the various exceptions and how you can qualify for them in detail in my book "Medicaid Secrets."
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pstieqman: You are correct. Tenancy-in-common is not the way to go for a Medicaid applicant. Sell the property outright, hopefully to a family member where you may continue living in the home. This applies to just about every state except Florida. Must read Mr. Heiser's book on "Medicaid Secrets".
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Cope with lots of prayers! I wonder what Medicaid does in CA or OR? My 90+ Mom and I, 50+, own our condo in CA; Mom has been moved up to OR to be near some of my family because 24-hour assisted living is too expensive in CA.
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Depending on what state your in, you can do a Lady-Bird Deed that will automatically transfer house to your name upon her death. Michigan is one of these states
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Pata- So mom lived in CA and now in OR but still has property in CA? If that is the case, and mom applies for Medicaid in OR later on, she will have an "asset" issue with the CA property. Medicaid allows for a house & a car to be an exempt asset. But it has to be in the state of residence otherwise it is not exempt. OR isn't going to pay Medicaid for someone who has an CA asset that could be sold to offset OR state costs for her NH care.

If mom isn;t coming back to CA, I'd suggest that you think hard about your buying her share and then mom uses the money for her care. Now she could just "gift" it to you, but realize there could be a transfer penalty based on the tax assessor value (which may not be accurate) when & if she does apply for Medicaid in the 5 year look-back. If you go this route, you should get a appraisal done on the property within the month of doing the legal transfer or sale on the house. One done by a licenseed appraiser and not a supposed value done by a Realtor. THe Realtor info can be good for supporting the appraisal.

GIfting or quit claim deeds are hard to get around because property ownership is easily found out.
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Hi, igloo572: Thank you for providing the gifting or transfer info., but I don't think that this is an option that my unfriendly Mom will decide, who claims that she owns all of the condo property just because she had put in most of the cash equity plus some home improvements over our 22 years of residence in the unit even though I had been her caregiver and given up most of my life's options for over 20 years; she in fact she actually owns only 50% of our property on our county title in CA. To make things even worse, I have been unemployed for over a year, may use up my own savings and IRA’s in about 5 to 7 years, and I could not possibly afford to buy out my Mom's 50% share of our property, whether or not I am working. I cannot even obtain an equity loan from any financial institution. No family can pay my bills, either. I am really scared at this point at age 58, but my family up in OR has told me not to worry about Mom's applying to Medicaid. Mom is 93, has a bad heart and infected teeth and may not live much longer, but no one really knows how long she may live with her comforted medical attention today. Unfortunately at this point, I just plan to wait for Mom to decease, then reevaluate my finances, and if I can't work again, I will plan to sell the property and move into a senior residence either in CA or OR. Mom had been mad at me because she requires 24-hour assisted living, cannot return to our CA home and CA just got too expensive for her. Her own cash assets will be used up In about a year. Could I possibly be left homeless and unemployed at that point?
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Here in VA if you lived with mom and was caregiver to her for two years house would be exempt.
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