Skip to main content
Tag

caregiver

May 12
Love0

What is the Caretaker Child Exception?

By Uncategorized

Caretaker Child Exception

You can receive Medicaid coverage while still keeping an ownership interest in your home. However, at your death the state will have the right to recover from your probate estate—essentially your home—whatever it pays out for your care. Your home could escape this claim if it were transferred to one or more of your children. A problem with doing this is that under the general transfer penalty rule, you would be ineligible for Medicaid benefits for up to 60 months following the conveyance.

Children who care for their parents can take advantage of provisions in the Medicaid Regulations

The Caretaker Child Exception to the transfer penalty can be a valuable tool to preserve the home of parents.

However, an exception to the transfer penalty allows a Medicaid applicant to transfer his or her home to a qualified caregiver child. The law defines a caregiver-transferee as a child  of the Medicaid applicant “who was residing in the applicant’s…home for a period of at least two years immediately before the date of the applicant’s…admission to the institution, and who (as determined by the DHS) provided care to the applicant…that permitted him or her to reside at home rather than in an institution. “ In order to qualify under this exception, an applicant should be prepared to submit a certification by his or her attending physician which basically states that, but for the caregiver, the applicant would have had to move to a nursing home.

If you can get the necessary certification, and if you would feel comfortable with the property in your caretaker’s name solely, it is recommend that you transfer your interest in your home to your caretaker child. No transfer penalty would be triggered and, in addition, the unit would not be subject to any reimbursement claim by the state. Once the transfer is made, your caretaker child would be free to sell the house or simply rent it out. If you choose to transfer the house to your caretaker child, you should discuss the form of conveyance—trust, life estate, or outright ownership—and the tax consequences to each approach.

If you decide to make the transfer, you will have the option of doing so after you qualify for Medicaid, or before you submit the application. To make the transfer before you have qualified for Medicaid may prolong the application process. For that reason, it may be easier to make the transfer after you have been determined eligible for Medicaid. However, we have submitted applications where the home was transferred before and after and all were approved.

Want to discuss how to take advantage of the Caretaker Child Exception with your family? Call us to schedule a no obligation consultation.

Apr 09
Love0

Caretaker child exception can protect residence of Medicaid recipient

By News

Caretaker Child and Medicaid Qualification

Children are often confronted with difficult decisions when time and age catch up with their parents. Many children have been pushed into the role of being primary caregiver for their parents. The motivation stems from the very reasonable wish to keep parents at home for as long as possible despite health and medical issues of parents that indicate the parents need additional assistance with activities of daily living.

When children assume the role of caregiver to their parents with the goal of being able to avoid nursing home care for parents, there are benefits to this arrangement. Beyond the obvious advantage of the peace of mind of knowing you are doing all that you can keep your parents comfortable.

When a parent reaches the point in life where medical needs are increasing, it is prudent for the surrounding family to contact an elder law attorney who can explain the necessary and proper documents to have in place for parents so that children can assist with the parents legal and medical needs.

Children often become caregivers for parents.

In addition, the elder law attorney should be prepared to introduce you to the Medicaid program and how it works for people who are expected to need skilled nursing and long term care.

Family should advise the elder law attorney about any children living at the home caring for a parent. These facts create a unique opportunity to protect the home of the parent from possible long long term care costs while still maintaining Medicaid eligibility.

If a child lives with a parent of the two (2) year period before the parent needs to enter into a nursing home, an if the child had not been with the parent the parent would have had to live in a nursing home, the parent can transfer the home to the caretaker child without being disqualified from Medicaid benefits. The parents doctor needs to certify to this arrangement and time frame for this exception to the transfer penalty to work.

The below link to an article explains some of the things that will need to be demonstrated to take advantage of this Medicaid planning opportunity. In Rhode Island, the rules are similar to the attached article but concerned individuals should meet with an elder law attorney to discuss the caretaker child exception as it applied to their facts.

Source: James Contini column: Caretaker child exception can protect residence of Medicaid recipient

 

Want to lean more? Contact our office for a no-cost consultation.

Dec 09
Love1

One Quarter of America’s Caregivers Are Millennials

By Uncategorized

Who are the caregivers looking over our loved ones?

Caring for older relatives is usually a task associated with Baby Boomers, the 50- and 60-somethings who find their aging parents need assistance. But almost a quarter of the adults who take care of older people — on top of their regular jobs and responsibilities — are between the ages of 18 and 34, according to research by the AARP Policy Institute and the National Alliance for Caregiving.

As millions of Americans are expected to live longer than they used to — often losing the ability to do so independently — their families and communities are grappling with how best way to take care of them. Kaiser Health News focused on the problem in a Dec. 2 webinar with advocates and policymakers. About 40 million Americans considered themselves caregivers in 2013, according to an AARP report, said Susan Reinhard, senior vice president at the AARP and one of the webinar’s panelists. Those people are typically women, and their median age is 49. The work they do caring for older relatives — usually parents and grandparents — was estimated that same year to be worth about $470 billion.Caregiver

The study underlines the importance of having a plan in place.

As we live longer lives, it is up to each person to ensure they have
a plan on how they will handle those years. Discussions need to include topics of domicile, care givers, support with daily activities of living, financial and medical.

Need to start your conversation? Contact us to schedule a meeting.

Source: Kaiser Health News

 

MJL Blog Footnote

 

Close Menu