Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in Massachusetts

Re: Nursing home patient's rights

Yes, of course, put that way, she MAY give away $10,000 to each of her children. But that may not be the point.

You must be asking how that impacts Medicaid, right?

If Medicaid will be used within 3 years, then she should NOT give away the ol' $10,000!! Why? Because Medicaid will not pay the first 65 days ($10,000 / $155 per day = 65 days) or so when she needs it. (5 years if the gift is via a trust.)

If Medicaid is already in use, then there are two possibilities: if she has that much money, she must have lied to get Medicaid and is hiding the money or something. I believe she's only allowed to keep about $2,500 or so when receiving Medicaid assistance. But, if she's married, her husband might have about $82,000 exempt from Medicaid attachment and if that's all he's got, he'd be well-advised to keep it for his own needs.

If she has no Medicaid and doesn't anticipate needing it for 3 years while she stays in the nursing home as a private pay patient, i.e., she's worth, say, over $300,000 now, she can make that gift.

If she's unmarried and worth upwards of $800,000 or a $1,000,000, I think she probably SHOULD make such gifts to her children.

Perhaps you were asking another question, whether she's competent to make such gifts now that she's in the home. Let me know if that's your question and there's more information to help you answer that question. My telephone number is 617 527-0050 and my e-mail address is [email protected] and I'm in Newton, Massachusetts. (Where are you and where is the patient?)