Legal Question in Health Care Law in New Hampshire

Re: Gifting money before entering convelesant care

At first glance, there should be nothing preventing her from making a gift as long as she does so with her own property. In other words, she cannot give away that which is not hers.

If you need any other help, you can contact me at [email protected]

Re: Gifting money before entering convelesant care

This is a topic which is fraught with potential trouble. There could be significant problems if your grandmother will need to obtain Medicaid for long term care, during the following five or so years (the rules frequently change, so whether it is three or five years, an elder law attorney would be able to advise you) after the gifts are complete.

A simple question would be whether your grandmother would likely need these assets to pay for long term care during that period. If she has sufficient assets, then there are plenty of good reasons to gift, if that is her inclination. If not, she should contact an elder law attorney before doing anything. Otherwise, she might find out that she has problems with Medicaid, and corrective action at that time may be significantly more difficult. If she is pretty wealthy, she may wish to consider consulting with an estate planning attorney, if she has not yet done so. She may find that there are other avenues of gifting which suit her purposes and benefit the grandchildren, while giving her some amount of control.