Medicaid planning.

When you say your father has too much, do you mean his assets or his monthly income? If it's assets, it's easier because he just has to spend down to whatever Pennsylvania's asset limit is, e.g., by paying privately for facility care until the money is spent down to the allowable level. There are articles and discussions here on Aging Care about "Medicaid spend-down," so I won't repeat here. If his monthly income is over the allowable limit, you'll need to check as to how to handle this. Some states allow for what is called a Miller Trust where the income over the allowable amount is deposited into the trust and the money in the trust pays the state back after the person passes away. For long term care Medicaid, the person must pay all their monthly income, less a personal needs allowance, to the facility and Medicaid makes up the difference. Rather than spending on a lawyer right now, you should perhaps start with working with a social worker at the rahab place and/or call the Pennsylvania office that administers the Medicaid long term care program and ask them questions. Each state is different, so it's hard for folks on this forum to be able to answer except in generalities.

you can use your dads’s funds to pay a Medicaid adviser. It won’t count as a gift. Definitely worth the funds.

I agree with Sami. Get a planner.
Also look up Q.I.T.s and Miller Trusts questions right here on AgingCare in the search window and research them online.

Find a qualified elderlaw/estate planning attorney. You'll probably have to pay for her/his services, but it's well worth the money to do this correctly,

Breezy, all encompassing pro-bono won’t happen as so much of this if a professional were to do it (attorney, SW, CPA, etc) would be something they are fee based for evaluating. Now finding places to move to, companies do this for families for free as the facilities are paying a fee / commission for every inquiry &/or placement done. This forum has a separate Corporate division that does this and it does keep a wall btw that and Q&A on this forum (so no worries).

This forum is useful as almost everyone who is giving you answers has dealt with something related to our own “at need” aging parents or spouse. So YMMV.

That being said, your post is not quite 2 weeks ago…. So how’s it going for rehab? Is he still in rehab? What are the convos with his PT, OT, like for what his abilities are looking to be? Or is he looking at a discharge fairly soon?

If still in rehab, please pls find your old pom-poms and become his cheerleader so that he fully participates in rehab for absolutely as long as possible. Rehab is being covered at a significantly higher paid rate to the NH/rehab facilty by his Medicare with a copay that is usually covered by his secondary health insurance. It’s 100% to day 20/21 then @ 50% up to 100 days. Unless he switched out of Original Medicare to an Advantage Plan as the AP are way less friendly on prolonged rehab stay. Rehab mucho importante so do what you can to get him to participate.

Every day he is in rehab not only is he getting 1-on-1 therapy BUT this gives you another day to ferret through his life’s paperwork to find out exactly where he stands for his finances and how soon he will run out of $ AND IF he is going to need to do a spend down and how much AND if he has a home a decision is made as to just what is to become of it. All the documents on his financial life you are going to have to ferret out whether this becomes a DIY or ya hire a Medicaid savvy attorney.

Personally I feel that it can be a DIY LTC Medicaid application IF:
1. A widow or widower. If there’s a community spouse, that is CELA level of attorney work,
2. you are existing POA with full financial powers;
3. are signatory on all his bank accounts, so accounts tied 2 his SSA # but you have signature on file so you can write checks, use debit card.
4. All banking have been done to be POD / TOD to you; & there has been no commingling of your $ with his.
5. He has done or can do the online registration with SSA and you know how to access it OR he if he’s now incapable he did the future rep payee document that SSA has for this to happen.
6. You have the ability to review his banking for past 5 years & nothing odd or outrageous over $500. $500 seems to be the tipping point for gifting review. What caseworker looks for is his pattern…. He will have relatively same spends & same type of deposits every year. If there is something that throws that off, you as his POA had better be able to have a reasonable response with supportive documentation as to what it is and why it’s not an issue; if you find that he has been gifting $ to others - outside of tithing- probably no longer a DIY but he needs an atty to shepherd his LTC Medicaid filing. Caseworker has his income info so know what he’s made + they have his deposit info, so it has to absolutely make sense why he’s now at the point of being at 2K in assets so that he’s impoverished for what LTC Medicaid requires. If you know he sold an asset back in 2022 for 350K and now he’s at a mere $1800 in the bank, that’s a red flag & you imho need an attorney.
7. If he has investments, he has to have done firms paperwork to have you designated. Not POA he did but all their paperwork.

If he has a paid off home, imo different issues to consider keeping it.
If home w/mortgage, $#’s really imo don’t work as he has a required Share of Cost of almost all his income paid to the NH ea month less a teeny allowance so not really feasible.

Hopefully he gets close to 100 rehab days!

Breezy4024: Retain an attorney.