My father placed property that my cousin left him in his will when he passed back in 2011. The property has been up for sale since 2012 and just sold in the spring of last year. The idea all along by my father was to split the money among the four children. Well, I took $40,000 last spring after the sale and long before my father had a stroke (December) and is looking at long term care. How can this gift be protected from the Medicaid 5 year look back when he spends down and needs to apply? This money was distributed as per the plan when we opted to sell the property back in 2012 and is no way a means of hiding the money. At the time, there was no way to know that this would happen.
I would visit your attorney for a better understanding of Medicaid. I believe that this is a fight that you will not win.
The property, owned by your father was sold in 2012.
He gave you $40,000 of that. That was a gift to you.
You can return the $40,000
Or
it will delay the process.
If the property sold for "only" $40,000 that is all that you have to be concerned about. If it sold for more either the rest should be returned as well or the rest is also added to the total to further delay the process.
Might be a time to consult an Elder Care Attorney. It is possible that if the money is placed in an irrevocable trust that might change the delay or the process.
Does the 3.5 years of self pay include his house? If not, you can look into selling that to cover self pay until the penalty period ends. Medicaid is going to get paid back as much as they can, they will put a lien on the house and collect when it is sold after his death. They won't make accusations, they will just place a penalty period in place for the money that was gifted to his children. It's really not about intent, it is about actions.
I would honestly not worry at this point, because they are always changing the rules, so who knows what the situation will look like in 3 years.
I dealt with a situation that my dad made 14.00 a month to much to qualify for public assistance. Yet he was thousands of dollars shy of skilled care. I found a board and care home that would let him age in place and he could afford the monthly payment. He didn't plan for his old age or any medical conditions, every penny went to keep his teeny bopper wife happy and when he got sick she left. Ugh!
So your dad is okay for now, worry about later, later.
I am not saying all romances with large age differences are bad. Some are wonderful marriages. Others are not!
An interesting side note -
well, I think it’s interesting...
A study recently done by The World
Health Organization ranked 195 countries in the health care that is available to their citizens. America ranked 35th. Pretty pathetic for “The Most Powerful County in the World”. At least, that’s my opinion.
If Medicaid qualification were loosened as you would like, we would all be paying much higher taxes to allow that many more people to live in NHs with publicly funded support.
What about the shares for your siblings? What's happened to their (total) $120,000?
Check this website, they actually have attorneys online that may be able to help you with your question. Better them than those of us that think we understand how the look back works. Maybe they will tell you what you want to hear, or ways to fix it.
https://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/how-can-i-safely-transfer-my-assets-get-medicaid-pay-long-term-care.html