My 93 yo mom is still at home doing ok but I can see her getting more weak all the time so I want to prepare.
I have been saving our receipts for years but I have co-mingled expenses a lot.
An example: I sometimes buy something with her debit card and pay back my share electronically. Is this a questionable practice? Amazon purchases mostly.
What about when she’s given me gifts? Such as Christmas and birthdays?
And generally speaking, surely debit expenditures to Walmart for under $200 for groceries are surely not scrutinized are they?
The fact is these have been past practices, can’t be undone, but I will go forward from here more conscientiously accounting.
Charlotte
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The specific advice you obtain from an Attorney who understands the application process will benefit you and your family in the future, and provide peace of mind now.
An Elder Care attorney will be an expense BUT it is very worthwhile as you will now have advice from a legal expert in the area of income, expenses, and care for the elderly.
If you want to track expenses for her, just buy a simple spiral notebook and set it up like a checkbook with date, item, expenditure, for both checking and credit card. You will have plenty of space to write in explanations. Do a page a month and attach the specific receipt. If you are ever asked about expenses you will be able to find it easily.
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House can remain an exempt asset for her lifetime. BUT upon death reverts to an asset of her Estate, which is subject to Medicaids Estate Recovery policy (MERP). However MERP has all sorts of exemptions, exclusions.
The crux if they want to keep their home but go into LTC NH Medicaid is that Medicaid requires a copay or SOC (share of cost) of almost all her monthly income to be paid to the facility each month. So mom still has her home in her name with hopefully a homestead exemption, but has no real $ to pay any property costs. You or other family will need to pay all property costs- taxes, insurance, upkeep - from day 1 of medicaid till beyond death as you or whomever her Executor will need to deal with MERP & possibly probate as well.
If you live with mom and her income & assets are currently being needed to keep the household afloat, and you totally on your own cannot pay the required costs of the house, having her go into a NH & onto Medicaid will be a crisis situation for you.
Is this the situation?
Medicaid will look at all the financials to see what Mom has been spending, and they may see "income" when in fact you had been reimbursing Mom whenever you used her debit card. The receipts will come in handy to prove otherwise.
Medicaid will question money used to purchase gifts or money given as gifts. I don't know what is the limit that Medicaid uses, each State has their own rules and regulations.
(slightly different I was his Guardian" and all purchases had to be "approved" by the court and I was told that 2 items I had purchased I had to repay the money into his account)
So I would be cautious about any gifts for any member of the family. Just know that they may be looked at and you may have to repay the money.
An elder Law attorney would be your best and safest bet in this quagmire.
As long as you are not taking huge lumps out, I would not worry so much. nd if it is getting close to the time when your Loved one has to go in, Time it where there are No huge gifts that are given out.