“Should I have my mom transfer her house over to me so the nursing home won’t get it?”
“Should I have my mom transfer her house over to me so the nursing home won’t get it?”
That’s like saying if i’m on I-65, should I be in the right lane or the left lane?
It depends.
(1) Is she healthy right now?
(2) Has she just gone in the nursing home?
Right now if she is in the nursing home and we’re applying for Medicaid, the home is often not considered an asset. But if she transfers her house to you, remember we look back five years. That’s the five year look back period.
We see that gift and now we’re going to divide it by $5,800. There are consequences.
It’s not illegal to transfer but there are consequences to transferring property. It just depends on the situation.
So how do you figure this out?
Find an elder law attorney you can talk to and lay out your situation and let the lawyer create a roadmap for you so you know what your specific options are in your unique situation.
Consider if you can make an exempt transfer of the house
There are some situations where even though we are transferring the home, it does not count as a “gift”. Here are some possibilities:
- The home is being transferred to a disabled child
- A child has been providing the proper type of caregiving to the parent for the last few years
- Transfer of the home to a sibling under certain circumstances
And even if you can’t do an exempt transfer, can you make it work transferring the house even with a medicaid penalty?
There are many rules, and exceptions to the rules, so you definitely need to get specific advice to see what your options are.
If you have any questions…
Feel free to get in touch with us.
You can reach us by phone at 1-205-879-2447.
Or, if you prefer, you can fill out a contact form and we will get in touch with you.
We’d be more than happy to answer your questions and help you figure out your best course of action.
Thanks for reading, and have a great day!