When is the Best Time to sell a Medicaid Recipient’s Home – Now or After Death?
Having an elderly loved one placed into an assisted living facility can be both a relief and stressful. It is a relief because you know that your loved one is getting the kind of care they need from trained professionals. It can be stressful because if you are utilizing Medicaid to pay for the costs of the facility instead of private pay, then the life of your loved one becomes permanently intertwined with Medicaid. If your loved one is using Medicaid to pay for their assisted living and they own a home, should you sell that home now or wait until your loved one passes on?
The Right Legal Arrangement
It is very important that everyone who is reaching retirement age talk to an elder law attorney about all of the arrangements they will need to make as they get older. For example, if no one in your family has power of attorney from your loved one, then none of you will be able to make decisions regarding your loved one’s property when the loved one is considered no longer able to make decisions on their own. Without the right legal structure in place, neither you nor anyone else in your family can make decisions for your loved one.
So When Should You Sell?
As long as Medicaid is paying or helping to pay for assisted living arrangements, the costs per month are lower than if it were private pay. Once you sell the property, Medicaid will normally take your loved one off Medicaid and force you to pay the private pay rate. For example, if the monthly private pay rate is $5,000.00 but the Medicaid rate is $3,000.00, then you save $2,000.00 for every month your loved one is using Medicaid. Based on this scenario, it is best to sell the property after your loved one has passed on to get assisted living care at the discounted monthly rate.
Our firm of caring and compassionate attorneys are seasoned in elder law and Medicaid planning. Give our elder law attorneys a call and we will help to answer all of your questions and help you understand the importance of Medicaid planning.