Q: Will adding my mom to my deed affect Medicaid's 5-year look-back?

A: Your question is much too fact-intensive for an online response. I urge you to consult an attorney who focuses on Medicare or elder law. Generally usually, it is NEVER a good idea to add anyone not your spouse to the deed of your home.

A: If she is actually moving in with you, I have no problem with mom purchasing an equity interest in your home (she pays you funds, you add her to the deed). So long as the purchase is for fair-market value or in your mother's favor, it would not negatively impact her Florida Medicaid eligibility in the next five years.

If she pays less than what you owe on the mortgage, then you need to get the lender's permission. You may want to check with the local property appraiser's office to see if it would trigger a reassessment of value for property tax purposes.

Hope this helps!

A: You’re wise to think ahead about how these decisions might affect your mother’s eligibility for Medicaid. In Florida, Medicaid has a **five-year look-back period** for any financial transfers or gifts made to others. If your mother’s funds are used to pay down your mortgage or if you add her to your home’s deed without her receiving fair market value in return, Medicaid could view that as a **transfer of assets**. That could lead to a period of ineligibility if she applies for long-term care benefits within five years of the transfer.

Adding her name to the deed may also create ownership and tax complications. If she becomes a co-owner, she could be seen as having a partial interest in the property, which might affect both her future Medicaid application and your own ability to refinance or sell the home. Even if your intention is to protect her assets, Medicaid might interpret it as an attempt to **shelter resources**, especially if she contributes financially toward your property without legal documentation of her ownership share. It’s important that any money she contributes is clearly structured—either as rent, a loan, or an investment with proper records to show fair value exchange.

A safer approach might be to keep your home in your name and maintain clear financial separation. If your mother needs to help with living expenses, you could formalize that through a written rental agreement instead of property transfer. That way, her contributions wouldn’t trigger Medicaid penalties, and you’d avoid complicating your home’s title. Planning carefully now helps protect both of you from future legal and financial issues if she later applies for Medicaid assistance.