medicaid asset distribution

Hi,

I was in the process of having Elder Care attorneys try to get my father qualified for Medicaid. All of his cash assets are transferred into my name in a seperate account. His only asset left is his home, which was to be sold.

My father has since passed away with no application being submitted for a Medicaid claim. What is to become of the cash assets in my name? Are they to be distributed in accordance to the will, which is split amongst the siblings, or since they were gifted to me, are the cash asses now mine?

Putting aside any ethical questions... and whether your father filed gift tax returns... and how exactly he was going to qualify for Medicaid after gifting "all of his cash assets.." to you.....

If you are the owner of the accounts now, they belong to you. Of course, the siblings may not be too happy with that and could make your life miserable if you do not split the assets with them.

well, yes, ethics aside...

the siblings have been less than scrupulous over the years...that is the reason my father left things in my hands...because he did not put faith in the other siblings...now the shoe is on the other foot, so to speak...I suppose I could distribute those assets that are in my name in accordance to the guidelines of the will, but truth be told, I don't know that I am of the heart to do so.

The money is yours. But, you should split the money as the will dictates. Isn't that what your father wanted to be done with "his" money? I cannot imagine any justification you could make to go against the wishes of your father. The last thing he would want is for his children to end up hating each other because one child kept all of "his" money. That would be very, very shallow of you.

well, what you say seems true, however you do not know the circumstances and I did not ask for you to question my morals...I was asking what is the law (this is a web site, I think, for legal advice)...but again it would appear to be shallow of me, but you do not know all the circumstances that lead to this question of mine.

I did not ask for you to question my morals...I was asking what is the law

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At the end of the day, if there is litigation, "morals" comes into it. The law is divided into two branches, the "law" as you put it and equity.

There can be equitable claims and defenses to things regarding the facts you've laid out. Equity regards fairness--which is a morals issue. While probate tends to be fairly law driven, your questions are not true probate and would fall into the more equitable decision-making area.

Others question your morals as, if you go to court, a judge or jury will do so as well. Never hope or expect to win in court if the legal outcome is unfair. Sometimes it happens, I'll admit, but the court system is more fair than many want to believe.

patinmd,

You are setting yourself up for some significant legal expenses. Tell us your reasoning if you feel you are entitled to all of the money, while your father has expressed that it should be divided equally.

This person had no problem trying to scam Medicaid, why would we think he has no problem succeeding in scamming the siblings? It's clear in his/her post.

Another case of trying to "protect" the assets for one's own inheritance and let someone else pay the expenses of a person who has the assets to be self sufficient!