Legal Question in Elder Law in Massachusetts

Re: Finances

The look-back rule has nothing to do with Social Security, and everything to do with eligibility for Medicaid (MassHealth). Under that rule, if an applicant makes a transfer of assets to a person or a trust within five years of applying for MassHealth, the gift is presumed to be for the purposes of qualifying for MassHealth unless you can show that the recipient is a member of a class of allowed recipients or was for purposes other than qualifying for MassHealth (such as paying one's own mortgage). If the payment is found to be disqualifying, the disqualification period runs forward from the date on which the applicant is "otherwise financially eligible" for benefits.

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Re: Finances

I think you are referring to the 5 year rule with respect to Medicaid benefits for nursing home or nursing care. The rule is that any gift or transfer of assets will be taken into consideration and they will look back 5 years. This means if an elder person put their home in the name of their children and it took place less than 5 years before applying for Medicaid, Medicaid would require the value of the home to be included in the qualification for benefits.

It is more complicated than that but this is a simple example.