Protection of One's Home

[room335]

State of NJ.....

My mom lives in NJ and wants to protect her home should she get really sick and run up expensive Hospital bills, etc. (she's in her 80s) Is there a way for her to protect her home without signing her home totally over to me (her son). We thought of putting me on the deed with her, but don't know if that would protect her home.

For her peace of mind, I would prefer she still has security in knowing she cannot be put out of her home (by me or anyone else), but she still will be able to protect her home from leans, etc should she get really sick and run up really high medical bills.

We both want her to be protected and still feel she cannot be put out of her home that she took 30 years to pay off. Thanks...

Anthony

 

[FlyingRon]

If by protecting, you mean leaving her a place to live, there are ways to handle that. If by protecting you mean dodging the people she owes money to or the government when she dies so you can have the property free and clear that is another.

The WORST thing you can most likely do is have her deed the property, in full or in part to you. It screws up several options for her: reverse mortgage eligibility (unless you are 62 or older as well), potential medicaid eligibility, etc... "Putting you on the deed" isn't some club membership. It's her giving you some part of the property.

If she gets a lot of non-covered medical bills, a reverse mortgage will provide money for paying some of that while effectively protecting her residence while she continues to be able to live here.

I'd recommend you talk to an elder law expert. There are lots of things she should be considering:

1. Property (and estate) issues
2. Advance medical directives (Living Will)
3. Power of attorney (general and medical).

I can tell you I managed to get all this in place for my mother-in-law who was diagnosed with Alzheimers while she was still lucid enough to execute these things. It made things much easier on the family as her illness progressed.

 

[room335]

Thanks for the info.

My mom does not want to see the state get her home, as this is what happened to her aunt when her aunt went into a nursing home years ago. Her aunt was never very sick in this case, but just could not walk well and needed help with everyday things like cooking , shopping, etc.

She aludes to me she would like to leave me the house and wants to explore options that would protect her assets so that most of her assets won't be chewed up by the state. She wanted to put the house in my name a few months ago, but I feel it would be prudent to speak with an attorney first and really didn't know what type attorney we should seek out for advice, so hence I posed the question on this forum.

I don't want her to feel she is signing everything over to me and losing control of her assets. I don't beleive anybody would like that feeling. Thanks again.

 

[anteater]

Keep in mind that, if she tries to qualify for Medicaid assistance, the lookback period for asset transfers at less than fair market is 5 years.

 

[commentator]

If she becomes really disabled and has to have skilled nursing care, why would it be wrong to have to use her own assets including the home she owns to pay for that care? Why should she aspire to defraud the government and get them to pay her bills just so that she can pass the house or money she retained for you? True, you are not liable to pay her medical bills, but then, why should you profit from her avoidance of them? Let me point out quickly that if she is in a nursing home, she is not being "put out of her home" by any means. She isn't able to be in her home, she's in a care facility. They would not take her home until she had passed away and her estate were being settled, not push her out onto the street with no place to go. As for worrying about YOU, her son putting her out on the street, all I can say is that if this is a big concern of hers, she has bigger issues than losing her house to the state.

That said, the estate can be protected, to some extent. You need to spring for an elder law attorney, and they can help you with the finesse of deferring her assets.
Keep in mind that elder care and estate planning is not an exact science by any means. It could very well be that she falls over suddenly (far in the future, we hope!) and never needs skilled nursing care that would take all her resources, even though your aunt did. Also, keep in mind that your aunt's situation, as you mentioned, was "years ago." People rarely spend long years languishing in a nursing home any more as they were likely to do 20 or 30 years ago.

Regular Medicare pays for some time in a nursing home. If you want to, you can keep your mother at home and wait on her, without having to put her in an expensive facility for an extended period. Of course that is a tremendous job.

At this point, if she were to deed the house over to you, there would be a five year look back at her assets and what had been done with them before she could qualify for Medicaid, and if she didn't qualify for that program, after her Medicare benefits for care were used up, if she needed such extended care during the next five years, you'd have to use your assets, such as the house she'd deeded to you, to cover her medical expenses.

But it appears you and your mother have been anguishing over this hypothetical situation, partly because of what happened to her sister, and you can ease both your minds tremendously by talking to an attorney who can advise you.