Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in Pennsylvania

I don't know when she created the trust and if it falls outside of the medicaid 5 year lookback period.

Has your mother actually applied for Medicaid or is this merely a hypothetical question?

Assuming that your mother has not yet applied for Medicaid and does not need to do so yet, then there may be no need to sell the house at all. If she created the trust less than 5 years ago and is in good health, maybe she will exceed the 5 year period. It is only in the event that she has or will soon apply for Medicaid and if the trust was created 5 years or less from the Medicaid application that the Medicaid spend-down rules would apply. Homes are usually not counted and do not have to be immediately sold. However, when the person dies, Medicaid is mandated to seek recovery from the person's estate.

There are exceptions - for example, if a disabled adult child lives in the home or another child moved back in to provide care to the elderly parent. These may exempt the house depending on the circumstances if the 5-year rule applies.

Each state has their own Medicaid rules which are complicated. Also, with proper planning now if your mother is in good health, many of the problems can be minimized or alleviated.

There are lawyers who specialize in this. If your mother is mentally competent, then she should see an elder law/estate planning attorney and have him look at her trust and decide what other options may or may not need to be done so as to protect her assets from Medicaid. If she is not mentally competent, the successor trustee or healthcare power of atttorney may need to do this, assuming that the trust and health care power give the authority to engage in this kind of planning for your mother.