Legal Question in Elder Law in Massachusetts

Re: Elder Law

They need to consult with an attorney. It depends upon how the life estate was worded and even if they violated the 5 year look back rule, there is an allocation formula that would indicate how much they need to spend before medicaid offset applies.

The allocation is based on a 110 year life span. There may be ways for them to minimize the impact of the allocation.

They should go see an attorney who deals in elder care now.

Re: Elder Law

Yes, there's a problem -- but it's not about Medicare. The five-year lookback rule concerns potential disqualification for MassHealth.

Son should NOT have received all of the proceeds -- that's where the problem was created. Son should have received an amount equivalent to his remainder interest (and likely should pay taxes on the share) and parents should have kept an amount of proceeds equivalent to the value of the life estate. MassHealth has specific rules which must be reviewed to keep everything clean. The only way of fixing the problem is to correctly recalculate how the proceeds should have been divided and then have Son give back to his parents the correct amount. All of these transactions should be documented to protect the parents should either of them need help from the state to pay for care in the next five years.

I've practiced elder law for a decade and would be pleased to advise the parents about the law and their options.