Does claiming a parent who lives with you as a dependent on your tax return, impact down the line Medicaid cost recovery?

With VA they told me count mother as dependent on taxes. One thing she was not on medicare just regular insurance. She also live with me and I took care of her for nine to ten years. She was added to my insurance when working. You need to call social security on that matter.

Cmagnum I totally agree with your sermon. But I get a little wary anytime people want to come up with a better way to care for our seniors, aa a middle classed family we already pay over $31, 000 this year in taxes (fed, state, local property tax) but my DH & I combined income only $110, 000. We are taxed waaaay too much, we pay health insurance about $12, 000 plus deductibles, and choose to buy long-term care insurance about $3, 000 each. We feel blessed to both be able to make money in these tough economic times and try to do our best to plan for our senior years. I cannot imagine what we would do if anyone on Capitol Hill decided people like us should pay more than 1/3 of our income (actually if you throw in our health and LTC policies we pay 1/2 or more) so that other folks can be irresponsible and not study hard, not work hard, ie "society will provide for us". Ooops I think we actually are in agreement on needing to plan ahead. But seriously reconsider any suggestions that "we" or "society" can "do better" by our elders.....what it translates to is higher taxes on the middle-class. A better way would be to reduce the cost of senior care by regulation, they should all be non-profit. And all those franchise in-homecare bbusiness that pay their workers $10 while charging $29 have some explaining to do. It should all be non-profit and books wide open to clients.

in order

sorry this forum does not allow for editing like Facebook does

We need to figure out a better way to care for our elderly, but we also need to change the mindset that is in society that children, even adult children, are the property of their parents to be used and abused however their narcissistic, borderline selves want to do.

We need to do a better job of spotting these young children and young people who have parents with such a sick outlook as well as sick personalities and save them if we can. We also need to do a better job of raising young adults with healthy self esteem and self-discipline who will save and invest toward their own retirement.

We still have too many parents and grandparents whose view of children is that you have them in order to have someone take care of you in old age. No we have children as an expression of the love that brings a husband and wife together. And the mystery of the creation of another human life weather we realize or not means that parents are co-creaters with God of another person whom we are given to raise and be good stewards of in or that they might mature and fly from the nest in due season for they are created in the image of God just like all humans are. Somehow, we have forgotten the dignity of human life that is give to us by our creator. That is my sermon for today!

Thank you Samara. Holy s#^*t, that s*^@ks! So sad. We really need to figure out a better way to care for our elderly (& we're close to needing it ourselves). After my Dad had a debilitating stroke, she put an addition on their house & thankfully the market was up so they could afford a full time live in private aid. Medicaid were giving my Dad 4 hours. 4 hours for a man left paralyzed completely on his left side & some brain damage.

Sorry, off topic. Just venting.

Buster57, the AL which do accept Medicaid, are few. They will usually require proof of 2 years self-pay (a financial statment of assets) to be signed before you can be admitted as a resident. More common are AL which are private-pay only, and these will simply evict residents when they fail to pay their rent. Its important to realize all AL are rentals, and have behaviour standards as well. If a resident violates the behavior code, or failed to pay rent, they can and will be evicted. If they are private-pay only theyre under no obligation to provide any transition services (ie help with applying for Medicaid). I have friends whose parents have been evicted for both reasons. One has a parent on her fourth AL in 3 years, and its no fun having to move a senior, ask her if she wants to do it again.

I thought some AL places, once you run out of your own funds (or LTD funds) will then accept Medicaid.

No, akdaughter, it was the social services intake people as well as the financial manager at the nursing home we were considering. Rather than the account being my mother's it was mine.

The reason is because the account was opened with me as the primary account holder, but with mother's name on the account so her SS check could be direct deposited. This was about 15 years ago. It was not preplanned but since I worked for the bank at the time, and because I was facilitating opening the account, it just turned out that way.

I was very surprised to find there would be no required disclosure as well but I'm taking these representatives at their word and am assuming they know the requirements well enough to be able to advise me regarding disclosure. In both cases the account information was discussed with the representatives.

I only use the account when I need to make a deposit and then electronically transfer those funds to my other account because of the convenience of a branch, otherwise all the transactions relate to mother and her expenses. However, over the years a sizable balance has accumulated since she doesn't have to pay any living expenses, only her personal care expenses. I'm prepared to turn those funds over to "pay-down" a nursing home should I find out that I've been ill advised if necessary. Right now it is not an issue since she still lives with us.

Since mother has lived with us and has been a dependent for so many years, long before she began receiving SS, it is a slightly different scenario than when a parent has had their own residence and financial accounts neither of which she has had in her lifetime.

Our situation may be unique.

Fadingshadows, was it an attorney who told you not to count the joint account as an asset for your mom? I was advised by an attorney never to mingle my funds with mom's, even if both names were on the account. The account into which SS is deposited would most certainly be assumed to be her asset. My name is on my mom's account in order to make it easier to pay bills, but all of the money that goes into the account is hers.

Chrdearmas1, most of us on this site can give bits and pieces of advice for your question, but you really need to see a lawyer who is knowledgeable in this topic. Checking with the local bar ass'n is a good idea. Might even ask social services if they can refer someone. After all, they are there to help---we hope

It's a good question. I'm not a tax attorney so take this with a grain of salt. In the past year I've talked to Aging Protection Services about placing my Mom in assisted living. Sueber48 is correct, there are few AL facilities that take Medicaid, the reason it seems is the classification, Medicaid will pay for "Personal Care" facilities but not "Assisted Living." Most AL facilities don't qualify under the guidelines as "Personal Care."

With regard to tax exemptions, I don't believe Medicaid can penalize the caregiver for taking an tax exemption for taking care of a dependent. Based on what I've been told, Medicaid is interested in the assets of the recipient, i.e., the parent or disabled spouse, child, etc.

Like you, my Mom has no assets. There is a joint account in which her SS is deposited, but I'm the primary account holder and I've been told that I should not report that as my Mom's asset especially since the account is used from time to time to transfer my funds to and from another of my accounts.

Also, a couple of points to be aware of 1) Medicaid for the elderly is actually Federally funded and regulated under SS with some state funding and regulation; 2) Medicaid funding and regulation for "Personal Care" homes and for "Skilled Nursing Facilities" fall under different programs. The first is geared toward living assistance whereas the second is geared toward skilled nursing care.

Hope this helps.

First, you should know that it is difficult to find any assisted living facilities that accept Medicaid patients. I live in a large county and there is one small AL facility that accepts Medicaid patients. I do not know the exact answer to your question but we went through the whole thing getting my Mom on Medicaid and she was in a NH. You really need to speak to a lawyer. We are not rich (I wish) but it was worth it to get advice on our exact situation, even if you have to pay for a consultation. Get a referral from your local Bar Assn. Best wishes!

Such a good question! I don't believe so, but I'm hoping that by giving a reply, more folks will see this and you'll get a more expert reply!