Q: In North Carolina can a nursing home come back and take a family members house at any point?How do we stop it?
Looking to buy my husbands grandmas house, she may eventually need to go into assisted living due to dementia
A:
In North Carolina, a nursing home itself typically does not have the authority to "take" a family member's house. However, if your husband's grandmother eventually requires Medicaid to pay for her long-term care, there could be implications for her estate, including her house.
Medicaid can seek recovery from the estate of a deceased beneficiary for long-term care benefits paid on their behalf. This process is known as estate recovery. However, there are important exceptions and protections, especially for surviving spouses, minor children, and certain other dependents.
To protect the house from potential Medicaid estate recovery, consider consulting with an attorney who has experience in elder law and estate planning. They can provide guidance on legal strategies such as trusts or other forms of asset protection that are compliant with Medicaid rules.
If you're planning to buy the house, ensure that the transaction is conducted at fair market value and follows all legal procedures. Transferring assets for less than their value can affect Medicaid eligibility.
Remember, each situation is unique, and the rules can be complex. Getting personalized legal advice is crucial to ensure that you're making informed decisions that align with your family's needs and are compliant with the law.
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.
