Legal Question in Elder Law in Massachusetts

Re: Trust, Life Estate, Deed,LLC

The issue is not whether MassHealth will "grab" the assets. The issues include, but are not limited to:

(1) what type of trust is this? Who are the trustees? What rights does your mother have to demand principal and income? What is the standard for distribution of income and principal?

and

(2) whether the transfer causes disqualification; and if it does, are there other assets available to cover the disqualification period.

Any transfer into an irrevocable trust will be treated as a disqualifying transfer, and the trust itself may remain disqualifying even after five years if not properly drafted. Assets transferred into a revocable trust will not be so treated, but the assets will remain available. Life estates can also contain traps. If things are not correctly done, these transactions could be financially disasterous.

Given that there are a lot of facts which must be reviewed, I cannot ethically provide a more specific answer. So, please have your mother contact me or another experienced elder law attorney before going forward.

Re: Trust, Life Estate, Deed,LLC

The questions you ask are to plentiful to answer adequately here. There are not only issues of asset protection, but tax implications for gift and estate taxes.

You need to consult with an attorney and have the current situation reviewed in depth and provide for the solution that was and is intended by your mother (and father?).

Short answer the transfer as described could make the asset of the new home subject to claim under medicard.

Please feel free to contact me without obligation to discuss the matter in more detail.

Re: Trust, Life Estate, Deed,LLC

I agree with the other answers here. There is too much case-specific information required to provide a general answer here. I recommend that you speak with an elder law attorney as soon as possible.