Elder Law Answers
Will My Mom Still Get a Penalty Period If I'm Using the Transferred Money to Pay Her Expenses?
My mother sold her home a year ago and moved into an independent living apartment. She had early stage dementia. The money...
Read moreIf We Own the Condo My Mother Lived In, Will It Affect Her Medicaid to Use Her Money to Fix It Up?
- October 31st, 2019
Q
Our mother has some money that we would like to use to fix up her condo with new carpeting and appliances. My siblings and I actually own the condo. Our mom is currently in a rehab facility after she broke her hip, and she may have to stay in long-term care and be unable to return home. If she goes to long-term care and applies for Medicaid, will the state come after the money we use to make repairs?
A
The answer is probably yes. The state Medicaid agency would likely consider the payments to repair the condominium to be a transfer of assets causing a period of ineligibility for Medicaid. While your mother lived in the condo, you could have charged her fair market rent and then used the money for repairs or anything else. But you could only do that while she lived there and was receiving the benefit of housing. Going forward, it’s not clear that she’ll receive the benefit of any repairs, so her money cannot be used for that purpose without the likelihood of a transfer penalty.