mother sale to daughter

[tmatson]

State of New Hampshire

My mother in law wants to sell her $150k condo to my wife for $1.00. she wants to do this to make her will simple and so she can move into subsidized senior rental housing.

Is this just a simple bill of sale and registering the change of name on the deed?

Any advice is helpfull

[Ohiogal]

Originally Posted by tmatson

State of New Hampshire

My mother in law wants to sell her $150k condo to my wife for $1.00. she wants to do this to make her will simple and so she can move into subsidized senior rental housing.

Is this just a simple bill of sale and registering the change of name on the deed?

Any advice is helpfull

She wants to sell it and then move into subsidized senior rental housing? To qualify for subsidized senior rental housing you have to have limited assets? Right? Seems like it might be considered fraud. Making her will simple is one thing (other than the gift tax you have to think about). Getting rid of assets to qualify for subsidized housing is a whole other. She would probably be considered to have received FMV for the condo. I would definitely talk this over with an attorney in your area who can point out other pitfalls.

[HomeGuru]

Originally Posted by tmatson

State of New Hampshire

My mother in law wants to sell her $150k condo to my wife for $1.00. she wants to do this to make her will simple and so she can move into subsidized senior rental housing.

Is this just a simple bill of sale and registering the change of name on the deed?

Any advice is helpfull

**A: it has to be an arms length transaction AND a bill of sale is not the instrument.

[BSharp]

Newsmax Money had an article about transferring assets I just read.
The bill only addresses Medicaid and nursing home care.

you might call the "certified financial planner" listed in the article since they just wrote about similar issue.
A "certified financial planner" would be a better bet here than a lawyer. Please later post what the CFP told you.

The full article is:

re Newsmax, Money News, Fri, 13 Jan 2006 16:06:37 -0600
2. New Medicaid Bill to Punish Seniors

Recently the Senate passed budget legislation that will cut back federal entitlement programs and impose new punitive restrictions on elderly people attempting to transfer assets before qualifying for Medicaid coverage for nursing-home care.

If passed, the bill would punish unwitting seniors who have given their family modest gifts and force some middle-income elderly to sell their homes and spend down the proceeds, say some financial experts. It would also make any individual with home equity above $500,000 ineligible for Medicaid nursing-home care.

"This bill will impact seniors nationwide and seriously affect their finances and quality of life," says certified financial planner J.J. Burns, president of J.J. Burns & Company. "People need to be careful on how they pass money along to their children."

[ My comment: sounds like Congress is anticipating a boom in asset transfers ahead of the big baby boom retirement to taxpayers detriment. ]