need some advice

[bdurham]

My mother owns a nice home and property in Tenn.The property is in her name alone. She married a man 6yrs ago who has been diagnosed
with leukemia. He has almost exhausted his Medicare benefits. He owns no real property and has given his son almost all of his cash about 60 or 70k. What rights does a hospital or nursing home have, if any to my mothers property to collect unpaid bills of my stepfather"s. She has very little cash herself. What can we do to protect her assets.

 

[CitrusSunshine]

I am not an attorney - only worked for them for over 30 years...first, you did not state where your mother resides. If she lives in the State of Tennessee (where the property is) Medicare has already ran an asset check on your mother as the wife of (unknown name). In the State of Florida, you can simply do a deed adding say you or another individual to the deed as follows: Mary Jones and Sammy Black, as joint owners with right of survivorship. The key words is "as joint owners with right of survivorship" - the individuals who are named on the deed then at the time of death of either one the ownership is transferred to the other. Also as joint owners it cannot be a forced sale - unless there is a IRS lien and then the chances of that is very low. You can also establish a "Living Trust" - go to any office supply as Office Max or Office Depot or check on line for forms. It is very simply filling in the blanks. This way, if your mother lives in a different state or the same state all you have to do is name the "Living Trust" - suggestion is not to name it with your mother's last name pick a name such as Eagle Trust (generic) then all assets can be placed into the trust using your mother as the trustee and whomever she wants to be either co-trustee or successor trustee. Please check your own state or the state where your mother lives in order to verify the law there - easy way of doing that is to go to the State's home page and look up under Statutes and/or Legislature and put in your question. If I can be of futher assistance, give me a yell. Good luck

 

[hannah jo]

Some states consider property owned by husband and wife as marital assets - thus even though his name is not on the deed, he may have ownership interest in the home by law. As for you questions as to how to protect your mother's assets, you should really seek legal counsel in TN. There are laws that prevent change in property ownership, etc, to protect assets when public funds are at issue - you need tobe aware of those laws and act accordingly. The cost of an attorney would certainly be less than the value of the property!

Please beware of using generic forms - as they are just that - GENERIC! They are not intended to conform with all the intricacies of each state and local law - they are forms that should be modified to comply with all laws in your jurisdiction if you wish them to be valid if challenged at some point in time!

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Please note that these comments do not constitute legal advice. It is always recommended that you consult with a local attorney, who can explore all the facts and issues of your specific situation and then advise you of any legal rights and remedies you may have under the current laws of your jurisdiction.