jj12345, if she has enough assets to pay for her own care for at least five years, then giving away the excess now may not be an issue. The potential problem arises when a person needs to apply for Medicaid and has given away money or assets within the previous 5 years.
The short rehab stays in a nursing home were probably paid for by Medicare.
my mom has been in and out of a nh in ohio she was in there taking therapy and back in forth to hospital to nh. She is not a permanent resident of the nh yet. she does have a large savings and owns her own home. is she allowed to give her children a gift?
In Texas you cannot if you are on or intend to get on Medicaid. Texas can look back 7 years. You will not go to jail but you will be penalized for so many months or years depending on the size of the gift. If you are on Medicaid and get an inheritance-win the lottery etc. you must report it and your medicaid benefits will stop-and you better report it in 10 days or less-make sure you get a reciet or send by certified mail-better yet go to nearest office-turn it in and get a receit. Usually they willcontinue your benefits until your next review giving you time to spend down the money but if you got alot you will not qualify for benefits again for 7 years if you touch or spend the money on anything except home repairs, a car less than 6k, food, clothing, a computer things like that "For YOU"
They will have to pay taxes on it. If you are going to get Medicaid, you better not or they will get in trouble for fraud along with you. Medicaid will check back for a number of years to see if you disposed of assets.
In my state home repairs count toward spend down. Keep all your spending records-even gas mileage and trips to doctors. I will never be able to spend down enough of dads money to get him qualified for Medicaid in Texas unless I pay this one Hospice that charges an excessive amount for care-great care but I could rent the Taj Mahal for that price! Yes-consult an Elder Care attorney. Remember-if you go on Medicaid in the State of Texas you sign away your cars, homes-anything above 2000.00 I believe the State can take if they want it.
If you are paying your own way in the NH, sure, give away as much as you like as long as you keep enough to pay your way the rest of your life.
If you are needing public funds to help you out in the NH, then you have rules to follow. You are expected to use your own money to pay for as much of your own care as you can, and only after that is gone will you be eligible for assistance. The rules are about what counts as paying for your own care. Giving money to your children does not count as paying for your own care.
If you have too much money to qualify for Medicaid you can spend the money until you have little enough to quality. You can buy a new wardrobe. You can buy new furnishings to take to NH. You can prepay your funeral expenses. You can buy an awesome computer. You can do many different things with your money to get to the point of eligibility, but you cannot simply give the money to other people.
You may benefit from consulting an attorney who specializes in elder law.
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The short rehab stays in a nursing home were probably paid for by Medicare.
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If you are needing public funds to help you out in the NH, then you have rules to follow. You are expected to use your own money to pay for as much of your own care as you can, and only after that is gone will you be eligible for assistance. The rules are about what counts as paying for your own care. Giving money to your children does not count as paying for your own care.
If you have too much money to qualify for Medicaid you can spend the money until you have little enough to quality. You can buy a new wardrobe. You can buy new furnishings to take to NH. You can prepay your funeral expenses. You can buy an awesome computer. You can do many different things with your money to get to the point of eligibility, but you cannot simply give the money to other people.
You may benefit from consulting an attorney who specializes in elder law.