Do I have to report to Medicaid when applying for my Mom?

The general rule is that joint interests are deemed available to the Medicaid applicant except to the extent that the applicant can prove contribution by the other joint owner(s). So as long as you can prove the source of the funds in the account is yours and not your mother's, it won't be deemed an available asset of your mother's for Medicaid purposes.

If your mom is listed as an account owner, and her social security number is associated with the account (along with yours) then Medicaid sees this account as 100% her property and it will need to be listed on the Medicaid application along with a 5 year history on the account. This is the unfortunate result of dual owner accounts.

If your mom is simply an authorized signor on the account, and her ss number is not associated with the account, then you do not have to report this to Medicaid.

Angel

This will be discovered when a asset verification system check is run. Check with an elder attorney in your state. Advice will probably be that It is best to 1 disclose 2 prove deposits are yours & 3 remove her from the account

The above responses are correct. My Mother and I have a joint account and during the Medicaid application process the account was considered 100% hers. The funds in the account counted towards the total monies that she held. We had to spend down on necessities that were approved by the Medicaid case worker prior to her qualifying for Medicaid. She is in a nursing home - the social worker at the NH was very helpful with the process. Good luck. Navigating this process on your own isn't easy. I know a lot of responses state to get an elder attorney - I did not, but I worked very closely with the Medicaid case worker, the nursing home and combined with my own knowledge of research and business. It is what you are comfortable with. All the best.

@lucindaD - so were you able to prove that the joint account was funded solely by you, or did you have comingled activity, with both you and your mother using the account, which of course then would be counted as your mother's asset in the eyes of Medicaid? The original question sounded to me as though the person funded the account and the parent was added in name only... Just making sure I understand. ty!

You will have to be prepared for the 5 year look back. Keep all bank records of under 5 years.

I was told by a lawyer to get my Moms name off my disabled nephews account because it can be counted with Medicaid. So we did and put my name on. He needs someone to oversee his finances.

In 2005, The Deficit Reduction Act (DRA) changed the Medicaid asset-transfer rules from 3 years to 5 years. However that does not mean all situations will disqualify. Many states have their own look-back rules (3 to 6 months), as long as everything looks on the up and up then they won't ask for more. It just depends on what state you are in. Texas and Pennslyvania come to mind for the shorter look back as long as everything looks ok.

Mom gifted the money to me in 2007 and it was used mostly for her care. Will they penalize her for the full amount deposited or will I just have to spend down the remaining amount to the $2000?

Also can we use mom's money to retain an elder care attorney or medicaid specialist to handle the application as part of her spend down?