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it is property in CT not real estate. mom was in permanent care at a NH. She was on Medicaid and dad is her community spouse. His health is rapidly declining. He needs to have 24/7 care. In CT. It is personal property. Will the state put a lien on it as they could a house? Or is it exempt as a car would be?
Can I live in the mobile home? I want to take ownership, paying my sister for 1/2 its value. Can we do this? What about their other property? such as their car, their furniture etc.

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Depends...if the trailer is on a rented lot, then it may be considered a vehicle depending on dad's state's law...If it is on dad's own land, then that must be checked out vs your state's laws.

In my state, mobile homes on rented lots are considered vehicles and one can have one vehicle when going onto Medicaid. Other vehicles must be declared as countable assets...Aside from certain "collectibles" household goods are likely not to be a "asset" issue...

I use the term trailer loosely...some mobile homes are double wides and set on a foundation...The key is if the dwelling has a vehicular title like a car does...

You may want to hire a qualified elder atty. Get one with references..this is a complicated issue...You may also want to visit your county Social Services dept and spell it out to them..I have found them to be very helpful...

My uneducated hunch is that you likely will not be able to do what you propose to do without a delay in a medicaid award for dad until he privates pays a nursing home for the value of the "trailer."

But more to the point, get some legal advice..

Grace + Peace,

Bob
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See www.naela.org, the website of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys, for an interactive list of elder law attorneys in your area. Medicaid is administered by and partly paid for by the states, which have different eligibility rules. The nature of the trailer under state law will determine how it is treated. Some states put a lien on a home once a surviving spouse is found eligible for Medicaid. Some only collect from the estate or from the probate estate -- if the home is not left to a minor or disabled child, a child who has lived with and cared for the parent delaying nursing home entrance for a certain period of time or if not doing so would keep heirs off public benefits. Some states allow the home to be rented to someone who pays utilities, taxes and maintenance with net income flowing though a qualified income trust. As you can see, the differences can be important.
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If the state does recover mobile homes for Medicaid reimbursement, wouldn't it already be subject to that because of Mom's NH care paid for by Medicaid?
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Your dad may have done good to just put the home in someone else's name or even into a trust. Another option he would have is to just go ahead and transfer it or even sell it and use the proceeds for his care.
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Not sure what you mean by CT, but in FL a mobile home is always titled even if on own land but its still considered a home. In FL, if there is no surviving spouse living in the home when a person goes into a nursing facility, then state takes everything if they can't afford to pay for it. Like the others said, check state laws and/or ask attorney.
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You really need to speak with an attorney. The short answer is "No, you cannot pay your sister for half and move in without paying rent to your father if he goes into the nursing home and doesn't live there". The mobile home belongs to your father (probably as surviving spouse - depending on how the mobile home was titled, whether it passed to your father when your mother died through will or probate, and a variety of other things). If the mobile home is an asset worth money that can be RENTED for money to provide care to your father, that is what you will be expected to do by Medicaid. You cannot just transfer the mobile home to yourself or your sister from your father - that will cause a Medicaid gifting of assets look-back (up to 5 years of asset transfers can be reviewed under federal law). Please please talk with a lawyer familiar with Medicaid law so you don't cause your father and yourself problems. There probably is or will be a claim on your mother's estate for the Medicaid expenses for which assets of the estate can be subject to lien, so you need to make sure that is clear before taking any actions.
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He won't need Medicaid right away if he just sells the mobile home and uses the proceeds for his care, I specified this before. If he has any liquidatable assets, It's always better to sell them off and use the money for one's own care before applying for Medicaid but I also like the rent idea as well. Either way will make money but selling off one's own assets is a very good idea. This will keep Medicaid from putting a lien on the home because either way someone's going to get the money anyway, and it may as well be the patient who actually needs it more than some greedy company out there.
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We just went through this with my father-in-law, but we didn't know he was on Medicaid. He had someone come to his mobile home and offer him "free" services, housekeeping, phone, etc. After he passed away, the State of CT came after my husband for over $75,000 in "charges" that needed to be repaid. So yes, the State will absolutely take his home if he goes on Medicaid.
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Go to m h p h o a, and research the laws in your state on mh laws; and review the rules and regs of the mh park ( if dad's mh is in a mh park). Don't pay anybody anything, especially not your sister her part of the inheritance. As soon as the mh is vacant, and dad is not returning , and 5 days go by without paying rent to the mh park owner, kiss the ownership of mh goodbye if you don't protect yourself now.
If the park owner takes it, it will be too late for an attorney because you don't own it.
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You need to consult an elder care lawyer, for sure! Right away! This is a question not easily answered here. (it's rather sad to think Medicaid will take an old man's trailer, isn't it? but of course that's how it goes.)
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I think Medicaid allows you to own a home if that is your residence. If he is in a nursing home that might change his legal address. Consult with an attorney.
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You must get to an Elder Law Attorney IMMEDIATELY, BEFORE YOUR FATHER GOES ON MEDICAID. Steps can be taken but you have to do it NOW! I cannot stress this enough. Also do your parents have a will or trust, you will need to take that with you. You cannot SELL his house to you right now or it will count as monies HE has and he cannot go on Medicaid. Take off from WHATEVER YOU ARE DOING AND GET TO AN ELDER LAW ATTORNEY TODAY! And yes a mobile home is treated the same as a regular home.
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There are ways around most everything that are legal loopholes, because the majority of us do not have a lot of money we are just not aware of them and they are used by the wealthy. When we got to our Elder Law Attorney we were shocked that there was actually hope and help for us to retain our family home and assets. We did have a trust in place however that also helped greatly.
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Short answer is that since your father lived in the MH while Mom was in care Medicaid couldn't take it. IF a adult child resided in the home with them for 2 + years they can assume ownership without Medicaid taking it (In Ohio that is the case). Otherwise if he lives there alone, it would need to be sold to offset the costs. Research "Estate recovery for Medicaid" in your state to find out the in's and out's and the "loopholes". Also check into having aides sent to the house for home care, much less expensive and covered by Medicare in many situations. If you or your sister can move in there and help for the amount of time needed to cover in your state to delay Dad being moved to a facility that would reduce the recovery "threat". I do agree with the others though, get an elder estate attorney before making any decisions. If you move in to take care of him, have an agreement made up that gives you some form of compensation for your time. Perhaps if you were there, he could have aides 8 hours a day and you would be responsible for the care the other hours? Kinda depends on how much you can handle and consideration for the other factors. Best of luck!!
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A moble home is like a car, it depreciates. You say u will pay ur sister her half, u don't own the home its your fathers asset. Any assets and income your Dad has will go to offset his care in a NH. You need to find out what the trailer is worth. Maybe low enough u can afford to buy it and that money will be used for his care. U and ur sister are not entitled to anything of ur fathers until his death and if a will is in place. If no will, then the state determines who gets his estate and they take their share.
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According to the federal Regulations that cover Medicaid, "A home is any property in which an individual (and spouse, if any) has an ownership interest and which serves as the individual's principal place of residence. This property includes the shelter in which an individual resides, the land on which the shelter is located and related outbuildings." Thus, a mobile home is governed by the exempt house rules mentioned by others, here.
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