Posted on: 12th Apr, 2009 07:52 am
i have been advised because my wife is ill to get several things done to avoid medicade 'spend down'
1 durable poa with power to gift to self and medical poa for each of us
2 enhabced estate deed
3 change warrenty deed to my name [no mortgage]
4 will these cause medicade to penalize her acceptability
1 durable poa with power to gift to self and medical poa for each of us
2 enhabced estate deed
3 change warrenty deed to my name [no mortgage]
4 will these cause medicade to penalize her acceptability
Hi denrho!
Welcome to forums!
As far as I know, if she transfers the property to you with the help of a warranty deed, then she may be penalized by the Medicaid. Medicaid has a look back period of 5 years. It means that Medicaid will look back up to 5 years in order to see if the person transferred any assets for less than fair market value. If the person has transferred property, then Medicaid will deny benefits for a period of time (the ineligibility period) based on the amount of assets transferred.
However, property can be transferred through a lady bird deed or the enhanced life estate deed. Transferring through this deed will not make your wife ineligible for medicaid provided she expresses her "intent to return" from the nursing home. Even if she does not express the "intent to return", the property may be considered as an exempt asset for Medicaid eligibility if her spouse (i.e. you) or any relative occupies it when she is not around.
As far as the POA is concerned, I would suggest you to contact an estate planning attorney and take his opinion in this regard.
Feel free to ask if you have further queries.
Sussane
Welcome to forums!
As far as I know, if she transfers the property to you with the help of a warranty deed, then she may be penalized by the Medicaid. Medicaid has a look back period of 5 years. It means that Medicaid will look back up to 5 years in order to see if the person transferred any assets for less than fair market value. If the person has transferred property, then Medicaid will deny benefits for a period of time (the ineligibility period) based on the amount of assets transferred.
However, property can be transferred through a lady bird deed or the enhanced life estate deed. Transferring through this deed will not make your wife ineligible for medicaid provided she expresses her "intent to return" from the nursing home. Even if she does not express the "intent to return", the property may be considered as an exempt asset for Medicaid eligibility if her spouse (i.e. you) or any relative occupies it when she is not around.
As far as the POA is concerned, I would suggest you to contact an estate planning attorney and take his opinion in this regard.
Feel free to ask if you have further queries.
Sussane