How does buying a home with parent & placing their name on the mortgage affect Medicaid eligibility? It would be the parent's primary home.

in 1991, my mother and I bought our CA condo to live together in it as we had nowhere else to go in CA. We paid off our mortgage in 2012 when I became unemployed. When Mom was forced into a nursing home in CA in late 2013, my brother moved her to OR State where Oregon Medicaid was more humane than what CA Medicaid would have been with her care since I was very concerned what would happen to our CA condo after she passed away. I was told to not worry about my shelter. She passed away in the State of OR in late 2014 but left behind a $9,270+ lien, called the promissory note, against my inherited side of the CA condo. I am still living where I moved in, nearly 9 years Mom died; 32 years later after we originally bought our place and moved in. No worries about OR Medicaid from Late Mom's care since it was used outside of MediCal's in CA where it may have pushed me out of my shelter to get paid back from her assets, only in the condo itself as she ran out of her funds. However, I will have repay this note from 3 possible events: I pass away, I sell the condo and move out, or maybe I get vacated from the unit for six months or longer. In that case, I will sell the condo to get the money to pay back what I owe OR and pay for my own care.

I am surmising that perhaps you are not creditworthy and this is why you want to purchase a house with your mother. However, you should be aware that if you purchase a house with your mother and you live in the home with her and later she has to go into a nursing home and Medicaid pays for her care, Medicaid will put a lien on the house for your mother’s portion. The good news for you is that you can live in the home for as long as you want, but once the house is sold Medicaid will come after you for your mother’s portion. Medicaid is funded by revenue from taxpayers and this is why they want to recoup that money.

Speak to an attorney who is versed in elder care and Medicaid before venturing into purchasing a house with your mother. There are technicalities involved if your mother has to go into a nursing home and Medicaid has to foot the bill for her.

OhioLee: You should retain a CELA (Certified Elder Law Attorney) well versed in Medicaid. As it relates to Medicaid, an applicant's home is a non countable asset, but there could be issues after your parent passes and your name is on the mortgage loan.

Best to consult with an attorney and tax accountant Before taking any action.

If you do go through with the purchase, you buy the house in your own name. Do not place your parents' names on the mortgage. But, who will pay for the property taxes and upkeep on the property, you or your parents? Also a lease option for your parents, as it's nice of you to help them, but please ask an attorney.

Bad move. Buy the house in your name and let your parents live there. At the end of the day if they get sick and die which they will any debtors will come after the house. That means Medicaid. Best thing is to make your parents look poor on paper.

Good advice below, to consult with an attorney specializing in elder law and also an accountant. A colleage of mine put the house in her own name. If you do, you may need to give them a formal lease.

Yes, as others have said you really need to get with an attorney (elder care) licensed in your state BUT ALSO with your CPA/Accountant or tax advisor.

There are potential Medicaid-related consequences for your LO depending on a range of considerations (including the 5-year look back; could this be considered by your State/the Feds as an attempt to "hide or protect" assets before seeking Medicaid coverage?). AND, there are potential tax-related consequences for you both if you are buying together with both your funds to secure a mortgage, but the home is theirs and not your primary residence? Not sure if that is the plan. But your ability to deduct the mortgage interest may be impacted by this not being your primary residence. Ditto for potential state tax-related consequences depending on various things, including are you both in the same state or NOT?

And if your LO/parent is considering applying for Medicaid, that is a program for low income individuals; so not sure how they'd qualify for a mortgage or are you just co-signing for them? If they qualified for the mortgage themselves, I have to assume their income is way above your State Medicaid asset limit (which tend to be around $2K a month). Maybe you are asking instead about putting their name(s) on the Deed with you?

Regardless, you really need to get expert legal and tax advice in your State before making decisions/taking action. Ignorance is not a defense w/regard to Medicaid (or tax consequences either) so your decisions/actions herein could greatly impact their ability to qualify for Medicaid if needed as will as have state/federal tax consequences for your both.

As everyone else has said, please consult with an attorney first. You may want to talk to the attorney about setting up a Life Estate. This means the house will be put in the children's names but the parent will continue to live in the house until they can no longer live there safely or they pass away. The parent continues to pay the taxes and for any repairs or modifications to the home while they occupy the home. So when they not longer live in the home or they pass away, Medicaid cannot take the house because it is in children's names, not the parent's name. However, this needs to be done prior to the 5 year look back period if they end up applying for nursing home Medicaid at some point. If the creation of the Life Estate happens within that 5 year look back period then it is considered the parent's home and will be treated as such for Medicaid purposes. The house will need to be sold for fair market value and the proceeds used to pay the nursing home. So doing this sooner, rather than later, is advisable. I hope that helps guides you in the right direction but, again, seek assistance from an attorney before you do anything. I recommend using an actual elder law attorney in your area. Good luck!

This is a question that should be asked of an attorney. My answer is that it would not be a good idea but I would get legal council.

You aren’t really giving us much to work with about the details of the transaction or what you are trying to accomplish.

I suggest that you organize the details on finances, prognosis, and goals, then consult with an appropriate professional with whom you are willing to share the information.

It would affect YOU. While the parent can own a home while applying for medicaid, plus one car, if they have otherwise spent down to the requirement of the state, after the parent's passing medicaid would have a lein on any sale of the home ("clawback") to get the parent's assets at sale of said home.
You need to speak with an elder law attorney before you make large moves like this because if it is done wrong it cannot be undone and will lead to a world of woe.