New Hampshire Nursing Home…Too Late?

[wenchris]

New Hampshire
We have a 93 year old father living in NH with his second wife Who is also 93 with Alzheimer’s And is presently in the hospital after a sever fall. She will be transferred into rehab for 20 day then continue on there for long term care (nursing home)
They were married in their 60’s and have 2nd home in Florida in his name but not primary residence.
New Hampshire home is in her name that is willed to her children that supposedly can stay in till he dies.
We are concerned about his well-being as me and my siblings live out of state.
Can he stay in her home or will nursing home come after this asset?
We are under the impression that his assets are also up for grabs except for $128,000.
He is very independent and does not want his offspring in his business nor would he want to live with any of us.
All accounts between him and his wife have been separate all these years and understand that they take 50% from each till gone, is this correct?
Also can he take his assets and buy a home in NH in his name so that if she pre deceases he could at least take that money and move closer to one of his children.
We are trying to get an appointment with an elder care attorney but he lives in the middle of nowhere.
Is it too late to do anything? If you knew. my father you would understand.
His children
Florida
New York
Texas
New York

 

[zddoodah]

Can he stay in her home or will nursing home come after this asset?

We have no way of intelligently guessing, but the nursing home isn't going to "come after" anything if its bills are being paid. Do you have reason to believe that might not happen?

All accounts between him and his wife have been separate all these years and understand that they take 50% from each till gone, is this correct?

"They"?

Also can he take his assets and buy a home in NH in his name so that if she pre deceases he could at least take that money and move closer to one of his children.

We have no way of knowing if he has this ability.

Is it too late to do anything?

Anything about what?

 

[commentator]

No nursing home, even if it is being paid for by Medicaid, is going to "come after" anybody's home and throw their resident spouse out on the street. And your stepmother is quite a ways from Medicaid, fom the sound of things. You certainly need to speak with an eldercare attorney who will be able to explain things to you. And from the sound of this, it doesn't sound like her care is going to be any kind of "long term" issue. She has Alzheimers, is 93 years old and has been hospitalized after a severe fall. Guessing, I'd not even be sure she's going to have to have the 20 days in rehab. If she makes it past those, it's questionable if she'll need years and years of long term care in that nursing home. And first, the couple needs to pay their bills. I am not sure what you're referring to regarding 50% of hers and 50% of his being taken.

Medicare does not cover long term care, though it will likely be covering her 20 days in a rehab facility. After that, you private pay until your assets are reduced to a very low certain amount. This includes both of the two people in this marriage. Medicaid is an income based program administered through government social services and works in tandem with the nursing facility to provide paid for care for the patient or patients who have no other assets. Their home is not taken by the program until they have passed. I'm sure the attorney can tell you whose assets must be used to pay first or what would be "taken"

When certifying for Medicaid, the worker will consider any assets the couple has had going back five years, so moving money or titles around at this point is probably not going to help make them eligible for Medicaid, as I said, if and when there is a need to determine if they are qualified for Medicaid. By all means, speak to the nursing home, and speak to your attorney, but remember that when considering the assets of a married couple, there's not a lot of attention paid to whose name this was in and that was in if they run through enough of their assets that they have to sign up for Medicaid benefits. At their ages the clock is running out pretty fast.

 

[wenchris]

Thank you C that clears things up quite a bit for us! We are as of today in touch with an elder care attorney. Quite a bit of disinformation on the internet. Not trying to scam the system as we are just trying to protect our dad when he needs care down the line. Things are still fluid and changing by the day but at least this helps explain to us in layman’s terms. Once again thank you for taking the time to explain and respond.
Florida
New York
Texas
New York

 

[wenchris]

Wow, have learned a bunch over the last week. Attorney’s appointment over a week away as they are non existent in this part of NH. One question though, Hospital and Nursing Home says we need to fill out application for Medicaid to get the process going. Local Medicaid official said to put on the application the reason is: Financial Resource Assessment
My dad will be self paying the nursing home and is years away from Medicaid. Is this something that can “wait” or should I drop off the application and be done with it. Just the thought of someone delving into my dad’s finances is a little unsettling. Will Medicaid dictate what monies are to be used first? Or is everything good till the money starts to dry up?
Thank you,
Florida
New York
Texas
New York

 

[Taxing Matters]

Your father is not at a point where Medicaid would be in play for him. As a result, I don't see how submitting that form Medicaid now would help anything. It's his financial condition when he files for Medicaid benefits that will matter, and at the point the government will want a current form, not one completed years before. The appointment with the lawyer is just a week away. It's nothing that can't wait a week for you and your father to meet with the attorney and map out a plan for his future.

 

[commentator]

Well, I''d say that since the local Medicaid official has no idea what your father's financial situation is, they would recommend an immediate application to get the ball rolling. For all they know, any time someone goes into care, it's going to be needed very quickly. What's that statistic about what percentage of the population doesn't have any savings or assets?

But in your case, from the sound of it, you've got folks, your stepmother and your father, who are quite well off and frankly, quite old. They may easily never have to be applied for Medicaid before they no longer would need care. Talk to the attorney about the advisability of changing titles or moving assets at this point. My parent surprised everyone by living about 13 more years than predicted. We were very glad we had transferred her assets.

As I said before, if and when an application for Medicaid is taken, it is most likely your father's and your stepmother's assets will not be considered separately. And when you do that application, they do not just take anyone's word for it, you sign for it to be possible for them to obtain banking and tax information, so yes, they are definitely "delving" into people's finances at this point. But it's sort of a "beggars can't be choosers" type thing.

As long as you do not need to sign up for Medicaid, there's no advantage in filing early, as the financial situation will have dramatically changed before it ever becomes necessary. And even if your parent does not ever file an application and never uses Medicaid, part of the settling of the estate will be a form to file saying they do not owe anything to Medicaid.

 

[wenchris]

Thank you ”T” and thank you “C” This has certainly opened up our eyes to get ones affairs in order. This was our thoughts also but we were not sure.
Once again Thank you
New York
Texas
New York
Florida