Legal Question in Elder Law in New York

Re: mother's house

These are all such difficult questions to answer because I hate to answer "go see a lawyer," but the fact is that Medicaid planning is extraordinarily complex and filled with minefields that are easy to trip over and make a mistake. In your situation, for example, mom's home is an "exempt asset" for Medicaid eligibility purposes, meaning mom's equity in the home (if under $750,000 (in NY; other states use $500,000)) won't be counted as "available" to pay her nursing home bills. However, you have to be very careful as to how the Medicaid application is completed, because if you fill it out wrong, or say the wrong thing in the interview, you could ruin the exemption. The mortgage issue may or may not work to mom's advantage when applying for Medicaid. If you send me the name of your town, I will look in my Rolodex and find the right person for you to go see.

Good luck, and God bless you and mom.

Rick Bryan

New York, NY