Don’t have time left for the 5 yr look back. Her dementia moving too fast. Gets about $15-17,000 oil check yearly, but only less than $2,000 monthly (SS plus her small land check). Should I just keep her at home with me even though it’s killing me and my teenager? Are there any options for her to get care? It seems like her oil/land is her supplemental income and she needs it now for caregiving help and etc…but I can’t just turn her over to the state which is what I’m told is my only other option. I’m not heartless but burned out. All her family bailed. Just me and my teen helping. We both are broken over this. What will happen to her land and our family oil wells? Will the state just keep them? Should she quit claim the land to her grandkids now and stay home with me to keep the land?
I get it…. You’re stressed and overwhelmed in caregiving and juggling your own family responsibilities but you need to find your mom an attorney with expertise in LTC Medicaid that understands O&G stuff. Folks owing a farm or a ranch with mineral rights isn’t rare for a lot of areas of the US. There will be an attorney who understands the nuances on all this are out there.
Mineral rights as an asset - in my experience - tend to be handled differently than most assets (home & car & savings / investments) for how you can sell them, for how a State looks at them for LTC Medicaid and for probate. One issue is totally can sell land w/mineral rights WITHOUT including the mineral rights in the sale. Surface rights does NOT mean mineral rights. Another issue is royalties paid are from production over a field so lots of others who too have ownership. $ paid is BASED ON UNDIVIDED INTEREST. This leads to problems for how value can be placed to be properly assessed.
Hang with me on this as it’s not straightforward and unless this is a very unusual situation (like Spindletop where it’s 1 persons land and wellhead and 100% all oil sent to 1 refinery come from this 1 exclusively), there are kinda 2 aspects on how mineral rights $ are paid:
1. actual land where where a rig or a hub exists that is owned by someone which exploration co pays owner a lease / usage fee. Agreement could be eons old and over time changed operators many times. It may not actually be in production but still sitting there & owner getting paid zero or a nominal amount. This $ you try to get amortized for the year so each month it’s 1/12th and added to whatever monthly income mom gets paid from her SSA. As long as her SS$ and the 1/12th are under whatever her State has set as the maximum income she should be ok. Most do $2,830 max mo income and 2K in assets.
This $ is different type of asset income than….
2. the royalties paid. Mineral rights royalties paid usually come from a huge field that could be over couple of counties with oodles of pipelines (& owners) that are interconnected to. Could be more than 1 field. If this is what your mom has, what this means is that $ paid comes from an asset that is UNDIVIDED INTEREST.
Something undivided interest cannot realistically be sold BECAUSE all - ALL - of the owners would have to agree to the sale. That’s so not happening. So assets like this get viewed an an exempt asset so OK for mom to continue to “own” and the $ paid placed into a special category for Medicaid.
O&G stuff for LTC Medicaid can be dealt with but it may not be the initial caseworker who can do what’s needed to get her eligibility done. Something held in undivided interest realistically is an nonaccessible asset.
Delving into O&G records are in a Department in your State or a Commission (for TX all in Railroad Commission). Deciphering in detail is what is what landmen get paid handsomely to do, it’s not a DIY. There will be a staffer in Medicaid who has expertise in dealing with these.
? for you, is this within Smokehouse Creek fire zone?
There is such a thing called a Miller Trust, which can be set up with an attorney. The "excess" funds that are preventing someone from qualifying for Medicaid get diverted into this trust so that the person will then qualify financially for Medicaid. Then those diverted funds go to the state, along with any other reclamation that needs to happen post-Medicaid.
My SFIL had to become a ward of a court-appointed legal guardian. Yes, the guardian makes all decisions until they pass away, but they don't prevent you from having the same personal relationship with your LO. I thought it was a very positive experience. Your Mom's money would go towards her care.
FYI in most states Medicaid only covers LTC, which means someone's doctor has to assess it as medically necessary (sometimes the LTC facility will make this assessment). This means someone is basically bedbound and cannot do anything for themselves, even from a wheelchair. They may require daily medical oversight.
When a ward of the 3rd party guardian passes away, a legally created Will stands as it was left. If the person designated beneficiaries, those stand as well. The guardian can't do anything after the LO passes. If the LO had pre-paid funeral insurance, then the Executor uses this to pay for burial. Medicaid will do it's own recovery, which may include a lien on a house. If the oil and land are things that are in the will, those will be passed on. The "estate" may need to go through probate.
All of this being said by me, a non-lawyer or Medicaid professional. Please consult with actual professionals for your Mom's home state for the most accurate answers.
Miller - in my understanding - requires source of income to be dedicated & guaranteed income. So retirement income from SSA totally good for a Miller, but royalties are not. The OP could put mom’s SSA into a Miller and then see if Medicaid would be ok for whatever the excess income paid by O&G to the mom done in the regular copay / Share of Cost process for LTC Medicaid. But it won’t be simple as royalties $ paid is a flat out moving target every single day for what it’s worth is.