Hi everyone, My grandma has bed in LTC since September. In October we received notice that we must place her house for sale and make reasonable effort to sell it. She is widowed and as I’m her grand child, not her child, I do not have a right to this property after her death. I have been told two different things about what happens with the sales income. 1, once all fees $ the mortgage are paid off, the balance goes to her checking account and she has to pay the full cost of the NH until she is re-eligible for Medicaid. If this is the case, since I’m on her bank account, do I have access to the $ or is it all paid lump sum to the NH and they spread it out? 2, she (or someone somewhere) holds onto the cash from the sale and upon her death, probate determines what goes where to “repay” the NH. I asked if I have access to the funds for because first of all I’d be writing the checks, second it may be considered income for me? And 3 I will essentially be homeless when the house closes. I’ve been on short-term disability for a few months as I am also on Medicaid. I am wondering if I am able to “borrow” against the cash if it’s in a joint account (less than $1000 of $100k) to get settled into a new apartment or if that’s even an option because she won’t have the $$ herself. I would pay it back very quickly bc I’ll be going back 2 jobs, it’s just that recent situations drained all my financial resources. Thanks!!
I am deeply sympathetic to your anxieties about where you are to live and how you are to manage - I have been there and it is no f***ing joke, I know. Get advice now, while you still have a roof over your head and comparatively few worries about your grandmother's wellbeing. I'd start with the office that deals with your short-term disability, they may well know of helpful resources for you.
This does not affect your ability to pay your *grandmother's* bills on her behalf, as you are an authorised signatory on her bank account. And one bill you can quite legitimately pay on her behalf is that of an elder care lawyer or planner who can advise you on how best to handle her house sale for her.
So how much “balance of proceeds” will be left after that happens???
Property values in CT are pretty high, there could be a good bit of cash post mortgage payoff.
Medicaid lien is an unsecured creditor so what happens is going to depend on CT property laws and administrative code. Some states do a “clawback” of all costs paid by Medicaid to date..... others have the owner get the $ but they become ineligible for Medicaid as they have too many assets (and it’s know to the penny by Medicaid as the sale is recorded by tax assessor) so they do a spend down for their care at the NH. Find out which path is done as it sets the next steps.
If it’s the latter and it’s a good bit of $$$ I’d see an elder atty to see if it makes sense to have a SNT special needs trust set up for the $. It’s got to be Medicaid compliant but allows for grans dpoa to have flexibility in getting things for her that otherwise are not covered by Medicaid and the means to pay for it. To me SNTs make good sense if it’s a good bit of $, like over 200-300k. You’d likely be a trustee on it if your the point person for doing stuff for gran. Usually state is beneficiary of the SnT when they die but Ask the atty if a disabled heir can be. Disabled heir can be an exclusion to regular after death estate recovery / MERP so maybe it could be done. It’s a CT legal question.
Good luck and make sure whomever represents gran at closing has the correct legal documents to sign..... you don’t want a glitch at closing.
To get a clearer idea of the best course of action, you should consult an eldercare attorney.
In the long term, I don’t care about any $ coming to me from her estate. She has no bills besides the mortgage which will be paid off during the sale, and a life insurance policy that is just enough to cover her cremation.
I mainly was curious where the sales from the house would go immediately, vs what they’d be used for. Believe me it makes me feel gross considering the “borrowing” against thing...thankfully I’ll at least be temporarily eligible for public housing.
Thanks again everyone!
Talk with an eldercare attorney.
And call Medicaid or the agency that contacted you and ask your questions.
Always start with the party that contacted you first as they are the ones pulling the strings at the moment.
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