Legal Question in Elder Law in Massachusetts

Re: joint tenency revokable trust

The answer is, "it depends." There's a lot more to this question than meets the eye, and I'd want to look at the trust, tax returns, any caregiver agreement, and other documents before giving you a definitive answer.

Generally, MassHealth treats the assets in a revocable trust as countable and belonging to the applicant. This presumption can be overcome if you can prove who contributed money to purchase the assets prior to the transfer.

The other issue you may face is the lack of a formal caregiver agreement or lack of formal evidence of an employer/employee relationship. MassHealth says that it's one thing to use trust assets to pay for hired help and another thing to pay a family member for something more than reimbursement for documented expenses unless there's a contract in place -- and these contracts are getting challenged at an increasing rate. If there is not a caregiver agreement in place, your mother may have a problem should she need to get Medicaid coverage at a long-term care facility.

I have been practicing elder law since 1998 and would welcome an opportunity to discuss this matter with you further. Once I review the situation, I could give you a clearer answer and information about what could be done to carry out your mother's intentions.