My Father never saw the need to protect the homeplace...
My Father never saw the need to protect the homeplace legally,now he faces nursing home care under Medicaid,and loss of the home to Medicaid. I am his son,and I reside at the home,and have been for over 5 years,caring for him for the last 3 of those 5 years. As a child, is there a way ,or any provisions within Medicaid for me to protect the home myself, given the fact that I have cared for him for over 3 years in order to keep him out of the nursing home ?
Expert Answer
Yes, there is a way for you and your father to protect the home from Medicaid's usual right to reimbursement for the cost of nursing home care. There is a special Medicaid rule that allows your father to transfer title of the home to you and places the home outside Medicaid's right to recover costs. That rule exempts such a transfer if an adult child has lived in the home with the parent, and cared for the parent, for at least two years prior to the parent's entry into the nursing home, allowing the parent to remain at home during that time instead of entering a nursing home. From your description of your circumstances, you and your father would qualify under this rule.
In order to take full advantage of this rule, your father needs to transfer title of the property to you alone (not jointly to anyone else). And you should gather support for your contention that you have lived in the home with your father during this time, keeping him out of a nursing home. This might consist, in part, of a notarized declaration under oath by your father, describing how you have lived with and cared for him in the house during this time, including a statement that he would not have been able to care for himself. You might also want to get a statement from your father's physician, summarizing your father's physical condition during this time, to confirm that he could not have lived in the house without you caring for him. Similar supporting statements from family members, neighbors and friends might also prove useful. You will also have to show that the home was your official residence during this time, through such things as your driver's license and other documents listing your address.
To find out the specific documentation you might use to take advantage of this rule in your state, contact a Medicaid office where you live. To find a nearby office, use any Internet search engine and enter the words Medicaid and the name of the state, which will take you to the official web site of your state's Medicaid program, or go to the Benefits.gov web site and click on the name of your state. You can also call the Eldercare Locator toll-free at 800-677-1116 and ask for the number of the Medicaid program in your state.