My mother recently put her house in my name. Now as she starts to decline, I'm thinking ahead, she would possibly go to a nursing home. Will this affect Medicaid?

Hi coleen - I totally recommend that you ask an elder lawyer these questions for the best advice. The info that you stated is conflicting...such as, if your mother transferred the title of her house to you, then she technically no longer owns the house - as such, she cannot sell a house that she no longer owns.

Also, when it comes to Medicaid, there's a 5-year look back. If she recently transferred title of her house, Medicaid will take that into consideration, along with her other assets. And if the title was transferred back to your mother and she sold her home, she wouldn't be Medicaid eligible - she wouldn't qualify. Your situation should really be discussed in its entirety with an elder lawyer so you can understand how to proceed effectively and the timing of it all.

coleencarr, welcome to the forum. One question, is Mom's house in both her and your name, or is the house just in your name now? There would be a big difference on how the sale would impact income taxes plus Medicaid, as to how the title reads.


On another note, it is not uncommon for a parent to give complete title over to a grown child. Except, one major problem: income taxes. If the parent gives complete title to a grown child, that grown child needs to find out how much the parent had originally paid for the house (hopefully parent kept the "settlement documents"). Then the profit from the sale of the house is figured from the date the parent had purchased the house, which could be very hefty with a large tax bill come income tax time. Even higher tax bill if the house is not the grown child's primary residence.


If the house is inherited, then the basis for figuring out the price of the house when being sold is now from the date you inherited the house (good to get an appraisal to know exactly the value of the house). Thus, a much lower tax bill.


I know, clear as mud.... (sigh)

In most states the Medicaid lookback is 5 yrs (in some it is 2.5). Medicaid is a federal program that is run by each state in their own way. In most states, Medicaid only pays for LTC, not AL or MC. One needs to be medically assessed as needing LTC by a doctor. It usually means someone is bedridden or has a profound health issue that requires daily medical oversight. So, one must qualify for Medicaid both medically and financially.

If you are your Mom's FPoA then you need to be extremely careful how you help her manage her financial affairs. You can't do anything that appears to be "gifting" money back and forth to her (or from her to others). If your Mom doesn't have a PoA then this is the first order of business. You can also consult with a Medicaid Planner for your state to get guidance, or an estate planner.

An option is that you don't change the title. Help her sell the house and use those funds to move into a nice reputable care community that accepts Medicaid. If she waits she may become too cognitively incapacitated to make her own decisions and will then need to rely on others, so she won't be part of her care decisions any more. Or, she may become completely uncooperative and create a nightmare for her family and/or PoA. There are plenty of posts on this forum that talk about what this scenario involves (stress!).

I wish you clarity, wisdom and peace in your hearts as you plan for the future.

You need to consult an elder law attorney. The putting of your mother's home into your name looks like an attempt to hide assets and then go onto governmental care programs. This will clearly be a problem, one you already recognize. You need expert legal advice and options now.

So the title transfer has been done, right? & done this year, right?
If so, HOME IS NOT MOM’s. This albatross is 100% yours and you need to be the one paying for everything EVERYTHING “house”.

To me if it’s fully transferred & in your name, you have 3 choices
1. ride it out till 2029/2030 and fingers crossed your mom does not need to file for LTC Medicaid program till then & you fully plan on doing any & all caregiving for her till then if that’s what’s needed. Because it will surface to become a transfer penalty issue for her eligibility if within the 5 yr lookback that most States require. Or
2. Transfer it back & fingers crossed you do not have siblings or other family or Adult Protective Services who see the need to make you accountable for all this and have you totally removed from any decisions related to mom. If you are her POA what you did was contrary to the required fiduciary duties of a POA. You get a Real estate attorney to go over the situation and have a Realtor to the listing. Once mom has the $ then she sees a CELA level of elder law atty to guide her on how to deal with all this once she finally becomes impoverished. OR
3. you as the owner sell it; $ given to mom which becomes income to her the month paid and becomes an asset thereafter. I’d have it all shepherded by a real estate attorney to do all this and they figure out how best to legitimately place costs of selling & Act of Sale distribution done. They should have someone in the firm who can do the tax situation as well. Listing done by a Realtor. & again once mom has the $ she sees a CELA level of elder law atty….

By doing the transfer downstreams to other concerns…..
Just how was this accomplished?….. done via a Warranty Deed and recorded at the courthouse? Done via a Quit Claim Deed and recorded at the courthouse? Trying to sell a home that was NOT transferred via a Warranty Deed may be difficult as QCD title do not guarantee ownership (which a WD does). It will limit your buyers as most folks need to get a mortgage and lenders flat do not like QCD. You have to clearly let all the Realtors you speak with know exactly how title done.

So was this done by real estate attorney &/or did a Title Company review the property history & do the paperwork?
or
was paperwork pull off the web, filled in by you & mom then filed?

Was appraisal done? If not, is house value accurate as per current tax assessor bill? Fwiw Medicaid transfer penalty is going to use the tax assessor value as part of the equation on determining the penalty period should that happen.

As your mom is still alive, that title transfer has very hefty IRS tax implications. It is what FreqFlyer posted about. In general you want to always go for getting a house after they die.

If you have your own home, that property cannot get any homestead exemptions. All reductions due to mom’s ownership, age, etc all have disappeared. Property taxes will go up; could be a huge increase.
Her homeowners insurance policy too has expired. So you need to get all new property insurance & asap so there is no prolonged uninsured period of time because if there is a gap in coverage, it could be quite difficult to get property insurance on a home. In my area, almost impossible to get policies if the roof is more than 10 years old. Selling anime that has no property insurance in place will pose issues.

If you don’t mind, I’ve got to ask, why o why did you do this???
This wasn’t pulled out of the air. What did you read or program did you go to or hear that said this was the move to make to “keep the government from your elders assets”?

coleencarr, I forgot to ask, does your Mom still have a mortgage on the house? If yes, you would need to successfully assume her loan (only if the loan is assumable) or start from scratch with a brand new loan.

As other readers have advised, see an elder attorney now. Is the house only in your name?

coleencarr: Retain an elder law attorney.

If your mom is applying for Medicaid, they will do a five year look back. They will see that she transferred an asset to you. You and mom need to hire an elder lawyer to advise you on how to handle this. They can also help her apply for Medicaid when the time comes.

Why did you not just leave house on mom's name as she is allowed to own a home and get medicaid? I live in calif and medi-cal can only ask what moms income as it's now income based period. So if mom has a million bucks in the bank medi-cal can only count the interest as income. Maybe should have put the home in a trust. That way there is no probate. If there is no probate then there is no income for medicaid/medi-cal to go after. And like people have said your worst nightmare could be family coming out of the wood work. Funny how certain family members that want nothing to do with mom let alone share in her care. Come knocking at door asking for what they think they are owed. When mom passes.

This is--I am sorry--now an attorney question. It is time to consult an elder law attorney for an hour. They know the law for your own particular state and situation. The general answer to whether your mother having given or sold her home for less than fair market value to a family member is often yes, it will mean that this is "gifting" and will prevent your mother getting care.

As you will know or can imagine, Medicaid Facilities are "sometimes" less good than extended care that is self pay and chosen by a client who has sold their home and has the 500,000 to 1M to spend on their own care, self-paying. To gift a home to your child robs you of decent care at the end of life. It also will often preclude your getting any governmental help. You assets should stand to provide you care, not to be handed off to your progeny.

So see an attorney now to see how this can safely be legally undone.

Recently sounds like less than five years ago. If so, your mother gifted it and it will be a problem if you are applying for Medicaid.

You need to contact an attorney to see what if anything can be done.

what if my mother passed away and was only in the nursing home for 1 year and her house value at 15,000. and her car don't run and is value under 500. well medicaid still take her house and i'm disable and would like to move in my moms house to get off section8