Q: If me and my siblings use some of mom's money and then she's goes to nursing home will we have to pay money back?
I'm power of attorney had to move money into my name due to grandson stealing.
A:
If your mother needs to qualify for Medicaid (assuming she does not have the resources to pay for nursing home care), then you would need to repay the funds if she needs to qualify for Medicaid. It’s all related to the Medicaid “transfer penalty.”
The penalty basically works as follows: Medicaid will look at every transfer in the prior 5 years and regardless of the reason, will assess a penalty based on the amount transferred to another person. The penalty is a period of ineligibility for Medicaid. The rationale is that the money taken from her could have been used for her care and therefore Medicaid will not pay for services during this period. An attorney or the nursing home may be able to further help you with these regulations and how they affect your mother’s situation.
Further, repaying the money may just be the right thing to do. As a fiduciary, you may also have an obligation to try to retrieve these funds, in addition to returning funds you placed in your own name.
Justia Ask a Lawyer is a forum for consumers to get answers to basic legal questions. Any information sent through Justia Ask a Lawyer is not secure and is done so on a non-confidential basis only.
The use of this website to ask questions or receive answers does not create an attorney–client relationship between you and Justia, or between you and any attorney who receives your information or responds to your questions, nor is it intended to create such a relationship. Additionally, no responses on this forum constitute legal advice, which must be tailored to the specific circumstances of each case. You should not act upon information provided in Justia Ask a Lawyer without seeking professional counsel from an attorney admitted or authorized to practice in your jurisdiction. Justia assumes no responsibility to any person who relies on information contained on or received through this site and disclaims all liability in respect to such information.
Justia cannot guarantee that the information on this website (including any legal information provided by an attorney through this service) is accurate, complete, or up-to-date. While we intend to make every attempt to keep the information on this site current, the owners of and contributors to this site make no claims, promises or guarantees about the accuracy, completeness or adequacy of the information contained in or linked to from this site.
