Hi,
I have had a brokerage account that my mom created when I was a child to give me a small amount of stock from my grandfather when I was a minor.
Other than that one contribution, she has never put anything else in.
I however have contributed to it over the years and used it to invest as a young man.
The entire time the account is a joint account with my mom.
It’s now 40 years later.
My mom is having the signs of dementia that is getting worse fast.
It’s likely she will exhaust all her assets and need to go on Medicaid.
My questions are:
1. Will they make me liquidate my brokerage account simply because her names on it as a joint owner to spend on her care?
2. Should I take her name off ASAP?
Thanks in advance.
1 Answer
Helpful Newest
First Oldest
First
Doing any other stuff, I’d wait on…. You many not need to do anything.
Don’t poke the bear.
So is it still “named” as a UTMA?
whose SS# is attached to the account?
If you look at any taxable event that has happened on this account, to whose SS# was it attached to?
Has any taxable event related to this account been included in moms IRS filing last 10 years? Or have they all been in your taxes?
Did mom do this in her role as Executor for her dads probate? I’m guessing that it was, am I right? It would be worthwhile IMO to get the entire docket from grandpas probate to have to clarify intent should this become a Medicaid issue. As this is decades ago, it’s probably in courthouse archives. It won’t be an easy online document drop for a small fee. You’ll need to find info on grandpa (name, DoB, DOD, old legal / license w his SS# or old passport) and go see the courthouse ladies in person mid morning (courts in session, it’s down time). Take lots of small bills & some change. If you pay in cash, they can start research right away. If you pay by check or credit card, takes couple of weeks to clear and get back to archives that the document search is fully paid, yada yada…..
Post an update on what you find out, too. thanks!