I have previous posts. Mother is 97 and preparing to go into Assisted Living or NH due to her age and frailty. Cannot care for herself. I told her I'd buy her house to keep it in the family, but now I'm not sure I should've offered to do that. I think she's also going to make me POA and I don't want to do that either. My thought was, I'd need her house to be close to the AL she will be in (I live 100 miles away). I'm thinking I should've urged her to come down here where I live as there's a good AL and NH here. But she probably wouldn't want to change doctors. Should I go ahead and buy her house? If I just let the NH take it, I won't be able to be near her, so I can monitor her care. If I buy her house she'll only have about $60,000 cash in her bank account.
Another reason I offered to buy her house is because she doesn't want it sitting empty and doesn't know what she would do with all her things.
If you buy her house it will need to be at FMV so that it won't raise the eyebrows of Medicaid, should she need it later (and probably will).
If you wish to make this arrangement easier, then you should just transition her into a facility close to you. Doctors won't mean that much after a while.
Of course none of this will happen if she refuses to assign you as her PoA and is uncooperative with any of your plans. If she doesn't have cognitive impairment, she still legally gets to make her own decisions whether you agree with them or not, whether they are wise or not.
Since you've said you don't want to be her PoA, then report her to APS and allow the county to acquire guardianship for her. They will transition her into a facility, and in my experience if you let her guardian know you prefer her to be near you, they may try to accommodate this request (although it may take a while if it's in another county). Then the guardian locks all her accounts for privacy and may lock up the house as well -- I don't know what they'll actually do with her home... you'll you'll have to research what your county social services does in this case. You can call them and ask.
The county or Medicaid or NHs don't "take" houses... I know that Medicaid has a reclamation program once she passes and they will have a lien on the house that will need to get satisfied when ownership changes.
Respectfully, based upon what you've written in your post, I think you don't know much about how things work. You need to talk to an elder law attorney and also a Medicaid Planner for your Mom's state of residence. Please work on getting correct information. This is a global forum of non-professionals so you cannot rely on information gained here (and there are no consequences if someone gives you inaccurate information).
I wish you success in working through a plan that works for the both of you.
If I rent the house and she wills it to me, would she be able to receive Medicaid once her money is down to 2K? And will the title pass to me after her death even after she has received Medicaid (assuming she could)?
Or would they just put a lien on it?
Also, if you buy her house, it kicks up other problems. You really need professional advice about the situation.
Remember these words “ those that need help need to be the one that compromise”.
You don’t want to buy the house ….so don’t . If you don’t have POA , you can not oversee her care . That is ok especially if mother will be unreasonable about selling her home to pay for her care . You can alert APS and a guardian will be assigned if your mother is not competent and can’t care for herself .
You should talk to an eldercare lawyer first so you can decide which approach you want to take. There are a lot of things to consider , Medicaid look back is an important thing to learn about . There are other things the lawyer would go over with you . Good Luck .
For all these reasons and more, for the fact that doing this WRONG would cost a bundle, I suggest you consult with this question, and your mother's current status with an elder law attorney or a trust and estate attorney. Good luck.
Once you know all of the facts, I think you will be able to look at your options more clearly.
Best wishes to you and your mom.
Some basic questions to ask. Are you easily able to buy her house? Are you assuming you would buy it with a serious.discount? That is where applying for Medicaid in the future if she is still surviving could be a problem. The figure you mentioned which would provide her with some funds sounds low but we don't know the real estate market in the area,condition of the house,outstanding mortgage etc.
There will have to be a parting of some belongings. I brought items to my mother's AL which could fit in and brought her pleasure. There is likely a great deal that has no purpose anymore. If it is packed you could consider hiring an estate sale to sell what is superfluous but this would need to happen when she is no longer living there. I hope you find the advice you need.
If you buy the house you must pay "market value", not a "special deal" price. $60,000 for a home seems awfully low to me.
The profits from the home are to be used for her care, when she runs out of money Medicaid can step in if she qualifies.
If the house is kept and rented, that becomes income and she may no longer qualify for Medicaid. If the home is just kept in her name, Medicaid will place a lien on the home, and after she passes, Medicaid will get the money from the sale of the home.
Don't try and work around the system, Medicaid has this down to a science, they have seen every way people try and work the system. Doesn't end well.