Legal Question in Elder Law in New York

I'm sorry dad's health has failed and he and your family have to go through this. My family is in a similar situation, and I understand how emotionally draining this situation is.

As long as dad's income is sufficient to pay the assisted living costs and then the skilled nursing costs, you're not going to have a problem until dad dies and his executor takes over the estate and follows what dad's will says. If dad has no will, then either your husband or his brother will become administrator of dad's estate and they'll have to figure out how to manage dad's property. In either case it's possible you'll need to move out; I don't know how dad setup his will.

The immediate problem comes in if dad's income is not enough to pay for the nursing home. In that case the nursing home's bill will continue to increase monthly and they'll start calling whomever signed dad's entrance application as the "responsible person." Depending on the difference between the nursing home's monthly costs and dad's monthly income, if any, this may or may not become a problem for the family. If dad's health is so poor that he won't make it in the nursing home for more than a few months or a year, it won't be so much of a problem until dad dies, and then the nursing home will want to get paid from dad's estate, and they have the right to force the estate to repay them, and if it means you have to sell the house, then that's how it will have to be. You have to ask the facility's financial aid office how their procedures work; they are the most knowledgeable. The financial aide office may tell you that if dad's monthly income does not cover his skilled nursing facility costs, and the "responsible person" does not pay up, they will ask the responsible person to apply for Medicaid. This is probably unlikely since dad's monthly income is certainly more than what Medicaid will pay them. But if the county Medicaid folks do get involved, then this is going to be a real pita. There are rules when a disabled person resides in the home, but I don't know how this will play out since you moved in after dad was already in the nursing home.

Honestly though your family should chip in and go see a lawyer who specializes in this field in the county where dad's assisted living facility is located, and go over the facts with the lawyer, and get an in-person answer to your questions. Most of the time there are many facts which are not included in your post and which are relevant to getting the right answer. Don't rely on this answer as being certain how the situation will play out. This is a serious situation, as I don't need to tell you, and asking these important questions on a free internet advice website is not really how you want to make such serious decisions.

Good luck to you and your family.

Richard Bryan, Esq.

New York, New York