Q: My brothers and I own a house that was my grandmothers.None of us live in the house. One of my brothers will most likely
need medicaid assistance, it appears him being a partial owner may not hinder that however, when he dies I am concerned about medicaid recovery. It is my understanding we own this home as "tenancy in common". What are our options for this property to avoid potential medicaid recovery or any assistance from medicaid?
A:
If you own as Tenants in Common, there CAN be recovery against YOUR BROTHER'S share of the house. This might lead to a forced sale or other 'issues' for you and the other common owners, as the people who paid for your brother's care (the taxpayers) work to recover the money they paid.
The only '100% simple and sure' way to address this is to buy out your brother's interest at its fair market value, and then for him to use that money to pay for his own care until it runs out.
You can try some 'fancy' medicaid qualifying trusts and they MIGHT work, but in the end, your brother using his own money to pay for his care is the only way to insure 100% medicaid won't try to recover against his assets.
-- This answer is offered for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice or create an attorney/client relationship. I am licensed to practice in Michigan only. Please seek competent local legal help if you feel you need legal advice
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