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Sandy - so you are considering taking some of the money from the sale of your mom's house and using it to buy a car? Is that correct?
If so, here's my thoughts…..Medicaid has strict rules for acceptance in the program. They basically have to be impoverished at whatever terms your state has set as the state runs the program. Now mom's house is an exempt asset for her lifetime - she does not have to sell the house to be on Medicaid. Mom can also have a (1) car as an exempt asset under Medicaid.
Here's the problem….if mom sells her home, the sale and the amount will show up in the state system. Medicaid will find out & Medicaid will fully expect for mom to use the proceeds from the sale to be used either to private pay for her NH stay OR can expect the proceeds to be paid to the state Medicaid program to reimburse for all the care paid for her to date. Before you spend a penny on a car, you need to find out how your state deals with increased assets and continuance on Medicaid. This is really important and you do not want to deal with a transfer penalty or fraud issues on non-disclosure of assets. Contact the caseworker assigned to the NH or the one assigned to their application.
Now say the house sold for 100K and so far the state has only spent 30K on mom. Then state gets paid 30K and you have 70K in a spend-down to get mom back as Medicaid eligible. You have to use the 70K on mom's care & needs, like paying for the NH but since she is now private pay she can use her money to do a prepaid NCV funeral & burial, update any legal and she could buy a car.
But the issue with having a car (or a house for that matter) when they are in a NH and on Medicaid, is that they will have no, none, zero of their money to be able to pay for anything on the car (or house) for the rest of their lifetime. Their SS and any other retirement must be paid to the NH as their co-pay. They get a small monthly allowance but really that is just enough to pay for new clothes, their phone or cable or beauty shoppe at the NH. You or other family will have to pay for everything on the car - insurance, tax, license, gas, etc - and for the rest of mom's lifetime. If you can afford to do this, great & go for it. You need to make sure that the insurance company knows that the owner of the vehicle & therefore the policy holder is in a NH too, I think you are going to have a problem in getting a good policy due to this. If you don't let insurance know and something happens, they could decline to pay and then you will have another problem on your hands.
All of your mother's assets, including money realized by selling them must go to her care. When all of that is depleted, her care will then be paid for by Medicare. After her death, there will be no assets left, so you will receive nothing.
You can buy a car with your own money and then document mileage for eldercare expenses which is a tax write-off for you. Maintenance of the car is not a deductible expense.
If you were to buy a car with your mother's money from the sale of her house, then medicaid will "lookback" and consider the car a "gift" to you. You will have to reimburse your mother's estate for the expense of the car by paying for her care out of your own pocket BEFORE Medicaid will kick in and pay for her care.
bls0901 if she is not on Medicaid, it makes no difference at all. It would be counted in a look back. If the title changed in 2013, the value at the time of transfer would be a gift penalty until 2018.
bls - actually you all could be just fine on the whole transfer of the Geo Prism. I had to deal with a transfer penalty for my mom on her car that she gave to worthless nephew right about at the end of the 5 yr look-back. You do need to include it when you do the application - if you forgot then submit it as an addendum asap.
You kinda have to understand that the whole transfer penalty stuff whether for the elders home or their car is based on value. For a house, the proceeds from the sale are recorded and so there is an exact $ amount to base what Medicaid expects. If the house is gifted the value seems to be set by what the tax asse$$or has for the property or an independent apprai$al before the transfer. A house is going to be worth real $ by & large. No real wiggle room. BUT for a car the value is based on Kelly Blue book and the value can vary dependent on items that are totally subjective - like the condition on the car is a huge factor; mileage makes a difference as well as model & add-on's, your zip code too. Lots of wiggle room on "value". Understand? In a quick & dirty on the Geo Prism (those cars run forever) it is coming in between $ 1,050. - $ 2,025. Now the car was totaled so in theory I bet it has no value Geez I hope you still have the paperwork on this or if not get it from the insurance agent if you can. So although she gifted the car, the value is I would think is zero or it's scrap value. To cover your butt, you could take it to a used car lot or "you pull 'em" junk yard to see what they offer you (other than laughter!) and use that document for any transfer penalty inquiry by Medicaid. Really you should be ok as long as you have documentation on the car.
For my mom, the value Medicaid thought was incorrect as the model she had was of lower value to begin with & then I had cancelled checks on all the work she had done on the car to show the problems with it and for just extra I got the mechanic to do an estimate of what they would buy it for. It was by the documents under the 2K in assets that Medicaid allows. Caseworker just viewed it as a wash and closed out the inquiry. Really they want to process the application and if you provide the details needed to show something that makes sense for the file, it should be OK. Oh another thing, if you can't find insurance stuff I bet you can get the accident report from the police if the Geo was "totaled" by an accident
This is only what I was told. Medicaid puts a lein on any assets . You cannot buy a car or anything with her money without being penalized. Your Mom wont need a doctor, the nursing home provides them, or medicaid transports them. If she passes away before her assets are gone, the remaining will go back to the estate but if she outlives it, no one gets any money. They also go back 5 years as to where her money has gone and could have a penalty phase to go through. IF, however you take your Mom into your home and are the DPOA and fulltime caregiver with a caregivers contract, you can use her assets (house money) for her fulltime caregiving. I would go for a free first visit with a lawyer to get expert advice. If you are not the caregiver, you have no rights to her money, from what I learned. Maybe rent the house, just an idea.
You can usually deduct only the mileage to and from doctors and healthcare visits with documentation, but I doubt the cost of buying a vehicle is allowed because it is used for so much more. Public transportation might be simpler. Check with a tax accountant.
Please can someone answer me this....My mother's car was considered "totaled" about 6 years ago but she was allowed to receive the check for the value of the car and pay a few hundred dollars to get it fixed. Her car insurance no longer allowed her to have comprehension coverage only collision. Fast forward to 2 years ago, she gave the car to my sister and her husband because she could not drive anymore, they still have the car. They still have the car and titled it in their names 1 year ago. It is a 1994 car Geo Prism. Will that have to be counted in a look back by Medicaid?
SANDY Don't sell anything! It will stop Medicaid and Mom will be out in the street! Never sell the house when Mom has Medicaid! Talk to her caseworker! Yikes.!!!
When Mom's POA sued me, the executrix, for not selling a house that was not left to her in Dad's will to pay for her nursing home care, is he able to take money from the sale of the house to pay for her legal expenses in bringing suit in her name (he had a private attorney for himself as he stole money from the estate and did not want to be held accountable) and says it is for her legal fees which amounted to about $50,000. According to documents I signed in settlement (to avoid all of the estate being swallowed by legal fees), her legal costs were $5K to MERP. How do I find out what his legal fees were or does all of that amount go to pay her nursing care? I don't want to be ripped off yet again. I asked my attorneys but they felt the fees were to cover his legal expenses, too. I am in Conn.
By proceeding, I agree that I understand the following disclosures:
I. How We Work in Washington.
Based on your preferences, we provide you with information about one or more of our contracted senior living providers ("Participating Communities") and provide your Senior Living Care Information to Participating Communities. The Participating Communities may contact you directly regarding their services.
APFM does not endorse or recommend any provider. It is your sole responsibility to select the appropriate care for yourself or your loved one. We work with both you and the Participating Communities in your search. We do not permit our Advisors to have an ownership interest in Participating Communities.
II. How We Are Paid.
We do not charge you any fee – we are paid by the Participating Communities. Some Participating Communities pay us a percentage of the first month's standard rate for the rent and care services you select. We invoice these fees after the senior moves in.
III. When We Tour.
APFM tours certain Participating Communities in Washington (typically more in metropolitan areas than in rural areas.) During the 12 month period prior to December 31, 2017, we toured 86.2% of Participating Communities with capacity for 20 or more residents.
IV. No Obligation or Commitment.
You have no obligation to use or to continue to use our services. Because you pay no fee to us, you will never need to ask for a refund.
V. Complaints.
Please contact our Family Feedback Line at (866) 584-7340 or ConsumerFeedback@aplaceformom.com to report any complaint. Consumers have many avenues to address a dispute with any referral service company, including the right to file a complaint with the Attorney General's office at: Consumer Protection Division, 800 5th Avenue, Ste. 2000, Seattle, 98104 or 800-551-4636.
VI. No Waiver of Your Rights.
APFM does not (and may not) require or even ask consumers seeking senior housing or care services in Washington State to sign waivers of liability for losses of personal property or injury or to sign waivers of any rights established under law.
I agree that:
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I authorize A Place For Mom ("APFM") to collect certain personal and contact detail information, as well as relevant health care information about me or from me about the senior family member or relative I am assisting ("Senior Living Care Information").
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APFM may provide information to me electronically. My electronic signature on agreements and documents has the same effect as if I signed them in ink.
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You consent to APFM's reaching out to you using a phone system than can auto-dial numbers (we miss rotary phones, too!), but this consent is not required to use our service.
If so, here's my thoughts…..Medicaid has strict rules for acceptance in the program. They basically have to be impoverished at whatever terms your state has set as the state runs the program. Now mom's house is an exempt asset for her lifetime - she does not have to sell the house to be on Medicaid. Mom can also have a (1) car as an exempt asset under Medicaid.
Here's the problem….if mom sells her home, the sale and the amount will show up in the state system. Medicaid will find out & Medicaid will fully expect for mom to use the proceeds from the sale to be used either to private pay for her NH stay OR can expect the proceeds to be paid to the state Medicaid program to reimburse for all the care paid for her to date. Before you spend a penny on a car, you need to find out how your state deals with increased assets and continuance on Medicaid. This is really important and you do not want to deal with a transfer penalty or fraud issues on non-disclosure of assets. Contact the caseworker assigned to the NH or the one assigned to their application.
Now say the house sold for 100K and so far the state has only spent 30K on mom. Then state gets paid 30K and you have 70K in a spend-down to get mom back as Medicaid eligible. You have to use the 70K on mom's care & needs, like paying for the NH but since she is now private pay she can use her money to do a prepaid NCV funeral & burial, update any legal and she could buy a car.
But the issue with having a car (or a house for that matter) when they are in a NH and on Medicaid, is that they will have no, none, zero of their money to be able to pay for anything on the car (or house) for the rest of their lifetime. Their SS and any other retirement must be paid to the NH as their co-pay. They get a small monthly allowance but really that is just enough to pay for new clothes, their phone or cable or beauty shoppe at the NH. You or other family will have to pay for everything on the car - insurance, tax, license, gas, etc - and for the rest of mom's lifetime. If you can afford to do this, great & go for it. You need to make sure that the insurance company knows that the owner of the vehicle & therefore the policy holder is in a NH too, I think you are going to have a problem in getting a good policy due to this. If you don't let insurance know and something happens, they could decline to pay and then you will have another problem on your hands.
You can buy a car with your own money and then document mileage for eldercare expenses which is a tax write-off for you. Maintenance of the car is not a deductible expense.
If you were to buy a car with your mother's money from the sale of her house, then medicaid will "lookback" and consider the car a "gift" to you. You will have to reimburse your mother's estate for the expense of the car by paying for her care out of your own pocket BEFORE Medicaid will kick in and pay for her care.
website: nydailynews/new-york/money-pros-understanding-medicaid-planning-five-year-look-back-rules-article-1.1464721
You kinda have to understand that the whole transfer penalty stuff whether for the elders home or their car is based on value. For a house, the proceeds from the sale are recorded and so there is an exact $ amount to base what Medicaid expects. If the house is gifted the value seems to be set by what the tax asse$$or has for the property or an independent apprai$al before the transfer. A house is going to be worth real $ by & large. No real wiggle room. BUT for a car the value is based on Kelly Blue book and the value can vary dependent on items that are totally subjective - like the condition on the car is a huge factor; mileage makes a difference as well as model & add-on's, your zip code too. Lots of wiggle room on "value". Understand? In a quick & dirty on the Geo Prism (those cars run forever) it is coming in between $ 1,050. - $ 2,025. Now the car was totaled so in theory I bet it has no value Geez I hope you still have the paperwork on this or if not get it from the insurance agent if you can. So although she gifted the car, the value is I would think is zero or it's scrap value. To cover your butt, you could take it to a used car lot or "you pull 'em" junk yard to see what they offer you (other than laughter!) and use that document for any transfer penalty inquiry by Medicaid. Really you should be ok as long as you have documentation on the car.
For my mom, the value Medicaid thought was incorrect as the model she had was of lower value to begin with & then I had cancelled checks on all the work she had done on the car to show the problems with it and for just extra I got the mechanic to do an estimate of what they would buy it for. It was by the documents under the 2K in assets that Medicaid allows. Caseworker just viewed it as a wash and closed out the inquiry. Really they want to process the application and if you provide the details needed to show something that makes sense for the file, it should be OK. Oh another thing, if you can't find insurance stuff I bet you can get the accident report from the police if the Geo was "totaled" by an accident
If she passes away before her assets are gone, the remaining will go back to the estate but if she outlives it, no one gets any money. They also go back 5 years as to where her money has gone and could have a penalty phase to go through. IF, however you take your Mom into your home and are the DPOA and fulltime caregiver with a caregivers contract, you can use her assets (house money) for her fulltime caregiving. I would go for a free first visit with a lawyer to get expert advice. If you are not the caregiver, you have no rights to her money, from what I learned. Maybe rent the house, just an idea.
"totaled" about 6 years ago but she was allowed to receive the check for the value of the car and pay a few hundred dollars to get it fixed. Her car insurance no longer allowed her to have comprehension coverage only collision. Fast forward to 2 years ago, she gave the car to my sister and her husband because she could not drive anymore, they still have the car. They still have the car and titled it in their names 1 year ago. It is a 1994 car Geo Prism. Will that have to be counted in a look back by Medicaid?