How can i stop the govenment making my mother sell her house if she goes in a nursing home?

Answer 1

Sign it over to you - or someone else - 7 years ago. If you have any problems try the citizens advice. They can help.

Answer 2

The actual agency that requires someone to sell their house is Medicaid. It's a double edged sword, but if you can bear with me I will help to explain how the process works and what your options are.

For someone to be eligible for Medicaid there is a cap amount for assets. In West Virginia it is $2000 each month. What this means is the total assets and income cannot go over $2000 EVER. This amount is calculated each and every month.

For example. If your mom makes $1000 in retirement, social security, etc.. each month she can only have a total of $1000 in assets. These assets include vehicles, real estate, CD's, revocable insurances, savings accounts, any and all assets with a cash value attached to them.

Each state handles Medicaid a little different than the other. But their rules are generally similar. In West Virginia they require that if her house is over $14000 it must be sold. If the house has been sold within 5-7 years (depending on the situation) or transfered to someone elses name, the state requires the "fair market value" of the house be used towards paying for her care. So if the house is valued or sold for fair market value at $150000, then they state that $150000 is to be used towards her care before Medicaid deems her eligible.

There are only a few ways to get around this and they are VERY specific and rarely work unless you had the forsight to start the process prior to her needing Medicaid and a nursing home. 1) if a family member lives with her (and for a substantial amount of time, not a week or a month) if they can prove that selling the house or having to move would cause incredible hardship, the house will not be required to be sold. 2) if there is a will/deed set-up that makes the house a survivorship type of asset, where she doesnt actually own it, but it would always pass down through the family. I'm not sure exactly what this is called, but I have had to deal with this situation a few times.

Other than those reasons, I have never seen where NOT selling the house would work. Medicaid has really cracked down on liquidatging the assets of someone. You have to understand why they feel the way they do. If your mom comes to the nursing home, and she required an amount of care of $7000 per month, in a years time she will cost the state $84000 in care. If she lives for 5 years in the nursing home it will cost the state $420000. Now, look at the difference from $150000 for the house, and the remainder of $270000 the state would pay. The state is trying to recoup as much money as they can to ofset the amount they provide for the resident. They feel this is so they can financially afford to continue to care for residents through Medicaid.

Before the federal government explicitly required states to begin liquidating assets (mostly real estate), most states Medicaid accounts were working in the RED. And because of this many states were having to scale back on the monies they provided for someones care.

As an example of your moms care. $1000 in retirement benefits per month. The nursing home is required to get $950 of this money. $50 is either put aside by the family or in an acount at the nursing home for the resident for what is called "personal needs." The nursing home is required to put this money into an interest bearing account for the resident. Medicaid will monitor this account periodically to make sure it does not exceed the state limit for Medicaid. The state will then pay the rest required for her care. So if she requires an average of $7000 per month, the state will pay $6000.

This is the only way most people are able to pay for a nursing home. When you consider the amount of people in a nursing home, the money Medicaid pays for them is staggering.

You cannot simply transfer the house to someone else, there WILL be a penalty. You cannot sell it for a dollar to someone, there WILL be a penalty, When the house is sold, ALL the money must be used towards your moms care, and it will need to be documented. Medicaid will randomly require a record of the monies spent. However, all of this money does not have to be spent at the nursing home. It can be used for clothing, past medical bills unpaid, items she needs that will not cause an asset.

I would advice you not try and FOOL the Medicaid agency, it will almost always backfire on you!!! The only one that will be hurt by this is your mom. The state looks at the house as being HER property with no regards to sentimental value or how much the family wants it or anything else. They feel it is her house and should be liquidated to help offset the monies they will provide for her care.

I hope I have helped you in this LONG answer. If you would like to know more or ask more questions, please feel free to email me.

Answer 3

Depends on your state. Most states require that a nursing home resident use up their assets before they become eligible for Medicaid. If your mother didn't gift away her money and deed over her home in anticipation of old age and infirmity, that was very bad planning. You can gift up to $10,000 a year to family members and more but the excess of $10,000 is subject to a "look back" period that also depends on your state but is a minimum of 3 years. Get yourself an elder care lawyer right away or go to legal aid for help if you or your mother can't afford one. If you start using your mother's money you better keep good records as to what it was used for as they'll come after it.

Answer 4

You cant,it was made law in the u.k a few years ago,the same thing is happening to my mother in law.
We were told if she had handed her house over to her children at least 7 yrs before she needed nursing home care it wouldnt have applied,but i dont know how true that is,it seems so unfair!

Answer 5

If you know you can implicidly trust your kids (if you have any) then sign it over to one of them. They can sometimes get round the signing it over to you now by saying you can then afford to pay for her care, but if you sign it to someone without a house of their own there is nothing they can do, all you did was get them on the housing ladder. Just remember it needs to be occupied or after 6 months they may use it to re-house people.

Answer 6

You can't the only way is to put the house in your name and transfer the deeds or tell her to sell it and share the money out between the people she would eventually of left it to in her will.

Answer 7

The only way is to sell yours, move in with her and look after her for a while (as long as you can manage). Then they cant sell her house. This is what my dad did.

Answer 8

You cannot - request care at home and see if you can manage like that. The seven years rule doesn't apply - you can't avoid Gordon Brown - he taxes (steals) money when people don't complain - like when they are incapable or dead. Taxes on Consumption and Inheritance.

Answer 9

You cant its the law!
Speak to an IFA and try and figure something out. If you sell the house (or perhaps transfer it to your name), then put the money in certain types of investment (life policies to name 1) then they are exempt when calculating her assets.

Answer 10

You must be another Honest citizen... Get your Lawyer to arrange for your mum to (virtually) sell you the house..