Legal Question in Elder Law in Indiana

From whom or for whom are you protecting Dad’s money? It’s his and his only——family has no legal, ethical or moral right to that money.

Dad’s money has to be spent down before he can qualify for Medicaid. Unlike, Medicare, Dad has no right to Medicaid. Medicaid is for people who have no money—-so he can’t qualify until he spends down to the required level. To determine eligibility date, the State takes into account all monetary resources including among others, checking, savings, and stocks. You should be very careful how money flows from those accounts, keep track of everything. The State becomes suspicious if they find anything suggesting that money is being moved out of accounts or given as gifts in order to protect funds that should be used for the recipient.

You can charge Dad for certain expenses and costs for living in your home, but an attorney has to draw up the proper schedule and contract for you.

That means, seeing an attorney sooner rather than later is your best bet in having things move as smooth as possible.

Unfortunately, none of this may matter in the future, as our current President will do away with Medicaid if he can. In that case, Dad will be left high and dry.