Legal Question in Elder Law in California
My brother is POA for our mother, and wants to turn it over to me. She is in a care facility, has medi-cal. We pay $900 of her $935 social security check to the facility. Because she owns a home, they said that when she passes, the cost of her stay will have to be paid back. But the problem is one of our siblings took a reverse mortgage out for our mom and stole $180,000 and now we had him convicted of financial elder abuse and is ordered to pay restitution of $1,200 a month. That has been a problem.
The mortgage now stands @ $280,000 so by the time we sell her home, pay the loan back, there may be no money left to pay back the facility or medi-cal! Can or will they legally go after the POA or her children for reimbursement?
2 Answers from Attorneys
Without more facts, I don't think Medi-Cal would be able to pursue her children, but the amounts your brother was ordered to repay would be an estate asset, and likely subject to a reimbursement claim from Medi-Cal.
POA can only come from the mother, if she is still competent. The problem is that the home wasn't properly dealt with before this occurred, by having it in a trust or gifted to heirs. It's probably too late to do anything now. Repayment can only come from the mother's assets, so no, they won't come after you, unless you are guilty of fraudulent transfer of assets. Hope none of you made personal guarantees of her debts.
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