Medicaid Transfer of Asset Rules

paying for alzheimers care

Brian Willie

I see it everyday in my practice. A family member comes to see me because their money is quickly running out and they must put their loved one in a nursing home. They want to know how they can qualify for Medicaid to try and preserve at least some of their loved ones’ hard earned income and assets.

But through mis-information over the years, they have gone about things in the wrong way. Two of the biggest mistakes I see are:

1. The person with Alzheimer’s Disease gave away or loaned money to a relative, or a family member listed on a joint account thought that they needed to move the money away from the account to protect it-so they transferred it-either to themselves or someone else.

2. The family member who may have power of attorney provides care for the person with Alzheimer’s for several years in home, and may be compensating themselves out of the bank account of the person with Alzheimer’s.

Both trigger “transfer of asset” problems. What is the transfer of asset rule Medicaid follows? It differs from state to state, but in general this is a rule that Medicaid applies to determine if someone gave another person property or money for less than fair market value. In other words, if there was an actual fair market exchange (i.e. money for services) then Medicaid may not have a problem. But, if someone....... read the whole post

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