need to spend down money for mother.does not own a house. has 35,000 left of some monies she was given by her aunt.trying to get her help mom pretty sick .paying private pay for caregiverand other expenses.she own no house.could she buy my house even though it is worth more than 35,000
to spend all her money at one time? i
If this is indeed the question the answer is that sure she can, but you don't want to do that.
If she is going to be living with you for at least two years you could have her purchase a "life estate" in your property and that would be fine from a Medicaid eligibility point of few.
If the plan is to have her move to assisted living or a NH then spending down some funds as suggested above is fine.
However you may wish to maintain some flexibility with some funds as mom is going to need funds while receiving Medicaid.
Consider establishing a Personal Services Contract between the two of you whereby you are paid to perform services for her. The rules allow you to transfer a lump sum amount from her to you in advance satisfaction of the contract. (Caveat: this is a taxable event).
Another alternative that allows more flexibility is transferring funds to a Supplemental Needs Trust. Such a a transfer allow immediate Medicaid eligibility while permitting funds to be used for the health, maintenance and welfare of your loved one while receiving benefits.
Good luck!
If you use the 35K to buy a house in mom's name just how are you going to pay for the expenses related to the house once mom goes into a NH and is on Medicaid?
Remember once they are in the NH on Medicaid, all their monthly income MUST be paid to the NH less whatever is their states personal needs allowance. That is usually between $ 30 - 60 a month - it is not enough to pay for the upkeep of a home.
35K is really not very much $ to "spend-down". They can buy funeral and burial policy - this will run about 10K; small life insurance (irrevocable NCV) - this should be at whatever is her state's maximum allowed, about $ 1,500. Buying her new glasses, dental care (spotty on Medicaid), hearing aids, walkers. Prepay for some items, like hairdresser. Remember no $ gifted to others. Everything must be for their care or their property. Medicaid look back is 5 years. The state can go thru 5 years of bank records & also require receipts to any item that pique’s their interest.
She is allowed a (1) car as an exempted asset - so you could get a modest new or used car in her name. Plus you could use the vehicle to "drive her". Good luck.
This would probably be OK
Dr Healer Shashikant S.Seth
"Estate Recovery allows SRS and Medicaid to recover medical care costs from the estates of recipients who, prior to their death were 55 years of age or older, resided in a nursing facility or received Medicaid-funded HCBS services; and/or did not have a spouse, children under 21, or disabled dependents. A person's estate includes the home, savings, or other assets remaining upon death. No lien will be placed upon property while the recipient or spouse is living, but a claim may be filed on the estate upon the death of both the recipient and spouse. All medical expenses paid by SRS may be included in the claim."
I would not jeopardize your home. Besides a funeral trust, other appropriate expenses include dentures, hearing aids, glasses and depending on her needs, assisting devices like wheel chairs, tub lift... They will look back and want to know where the money went. Spending down is just that, spending her money on her needs until she qualifies for medicaid.
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