Palmyra, VA asked in Estate Planning, Family Law, Elder Law and Health Care Law for Virginia

Q: See below.

My partner and I have moved back to the Charlottesville area to provider assist with his grandmothers care. It is the hope of my partner and his family that his grandmother can qualify for Medicaid, once she has Medicaid, she can be moved into an assisted living facility paid for by Medicaid. The house is in his grandmothers name. His aunt is communicating that his grandmother will never qualify for Medicaid if the house remains in her name, she has other assets as well. My partner and I plan to move into the house after we establish his grandmothers care, this is also his grandmothers wish. The house has been willed to my partners mother within the last 5 years. Do you know any information regarding the 5 year look back period? We have read information that seems to indicate this 5 year look back period will be problematic for his grandmothers circumstance. Is something like a non-revocable trust be an option to mediate this possibly? Do you have any suggestions for this type of situa

1 Lawyer Answer

A: You are asking a very complex question on a short answer forum and mis-understand some of Medicaid rules. Aunt may or may not be wrong - there are several ways this can be handled.

You need an Elder Law Attorney to advise you, and Charlottesville has several very good ones who are friends of mine. You can find an elder law attorney here or at the Virginia Academy of Elder Law Attorneys website www.vaela.org (use the zip code lookup feature to find one near you)

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