Hi had to put my 100 year old mom in a nursing home this week. She lived by herself and was losing her balance. It was getting too dangerous. She is enjoying them home and is thriving. She has gained weight and her BP went from 200 to 114. She had medicare and medicaid before she went in which made things easier. I gave them a copy of her bank statement that they asked for and they said because she had 9,000 in the bank in a money market account that they will probably take all but 2000.00 of it because she is not supposed to have that much money in her account. It is set up as payable upon death to her niece and nephew. Do I encourage her to remove some of the money and send it to her niece and nephew now as that is who she wants to get it? Not sure what to do or if she will get in trouble if she does that. Has this ever happened to anyone? Thanks.
As for the money, Medicaid needs to be reimbursed for the money they use for your Mom's care. It would have been nice for her niece and nephew to get said money, but now it needs to be used to help pay her way at the nursing home. If Mom gives that money away now, it would be viewed as "gifting" by Medicaid. Thus you or someone else would need to make up the difference.
When I think of niece and nephew, I think of children in their pre-teens.... I bet the niece and nephew are in their 70's and 80's.