Gift NY

[rsrink]

What is the name of your state? New York State
I have POA rights for this elderly women. She has no spouse or children. She now lives alone in her home, and in good health. She wants to give me the max. of $12000 as a gift .

If I decide to take this, and she later goes into a Nursing Home, Could Medical or any governemnt agency ask for this back before the 5 years limitation rights? Her exisiting estate is valued at approximate $200,000.

[abezon]

Never mind medicaid, your exposure is getting sued for breach of fiduciary duty. The only way you can accept any kind of gift from her is if you get prior court approval so the court will have a record that she was not unduely influenced.

Even then, you likely still have to report the gift as income, since the IRS would view it as fiduciary fees. (Report on line 21 as "Nonprofessional Fiduciary Fees"). The argument is that you would not have gotten a gift unless you had the fiduciary relationship & were performing services, so the 'gift' is really an attempt to allow you to avoid taxes on income. This is the same argument the IRS uses when an employer 'gifts' employees with bonuses. The IRS wins on this issue.