Q: if a property is in a life estate, can medicaid force me to sell the house?
My mother and I set up a life estate deed in October of 2012. Now we are looking at medicaid for her long term care in a nursing home. Can I be forced to sell the house to pay for her expenses?
A: You need to sit down with an attorney who handles medicaid issues. Who is the owner of the house vs. the life estate, when the transfer occurred, your age, whether there is a living spouse or dependent child, whether you are a long term care giver who has lived in the house for a significant period of time--these and other issues need to be examined before it can be determined whether medicaid can essentially take the house and whether she is even eligible for medicaid. A person can be ineligible for a period of time following a large asset transfer. This rule exists to keep people from simply gifting everything they own to family and then going on medicaid with nothing to cover the expenses. An estate planning attorney can help you minimize the amount of property/money medicaid can take.
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