Legal Question in Elder Law in Virginia

Elderly Care & Property

My grandparents purchased a house and it has been paid off (no mortgage). I currently ''rent'' from them and they want to ''will'' me the house upon their death. The question is, should they sell me the house (to avoid it being considered assets in case they need to go into some type of nursing home or assisted living) to avoid the house being taken and put in the will that this ''mortgage'' is paid in full upon their death? Would this protect the property?


Asked on 4/09/02, 2:18 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Thomas DeCaro DeCaro & Howell PC

Re: Elderly Care & Property

I absolutely recommend this. They can sell you

the house and take back a mortgage for a relatively

low value. They can also make gifts to you of

some or all of the mortgage payments, and/or pay

rent to you if they live there after the sale.

For example, if you buy the home for $50,000 and

the payments on the mortgage are $500, you can

rent them space for the fair market rent, say

$450. Obviously , this example is very simplified.

for Medicaid you need to establish fair market

value for the sale, fair market value for the

leaseback, and have everything properly documented.

Our firm has experience with this type of

transaction and we have successfully structured

these transactions for others. Please give us a

call for a no-obligation consultation.

Read more
Answered on 4/09/02, 3:42 pm


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