Can money be gifted to my children be attached if I were to go into a long term facility?

guestshopadmin is correct. The size of the penalty also decreases with time, so the penalty you would have after, say, 4 years would be less than the penalty if you gifted the money immediately before applying for Medicaid. The money won't be attached, but you would just have to pay the penalty out of pocket before Medicaid would kick in.

Guest, thanks for the clarification.

Windy, Medicaid penalties do not come into play with your estate. Gifting penalties mean that your coverage with Medicaid does not pay for services equivalent to the penalty. For example, you gave $5000 to daughter. The daily amount in your area that Medicaid would cover is $100. You or your family would be responsible for private pay of 50 days to make up the $5000 given away. Medicaid would not wait to collect from estate on the look-back penalty. That money is long gone from gifting.

Are you asking about medicaid? There's a five year look back period for medicaid. If you were to receive medicaid, moneys gifted could be a serious issue when medicaid collects reimbursement from your estate. You should talk to a financial planner or attorney who does this type of work.