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We can not find answers about what happens to sibling's Medicaid? We would like to remove sibling from receiving 1/3 of property. Can this be done? We would have to sell a piece of property to give my sibling their share....which I believe would then go to pay siblings Medicaid.
It's not fair to my other sibling and myself who are wanting to keep the property in the family.
Does anyone have any advice?

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When my Mom and her 3 siblings inherited farmland, only Mom wanted the farmland.  So Mom paid each sibling 1/4 of the fair market price of the farmland and "bought" her siblings' share/percentage of the farmland. 

You and your other sibling might have to do that in order to keep the property.  The money that you pay to your sibling will most likely affect your sibling's ability to be on Medicaid until she uses all of the money that you pay her for her share/percentage of the property.
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NeedHelpWithMom Sep 2019
Good suggestion. Your mom was being fair buying the other siblings out of their share. The OP is stating they want to cut out the sibling. The question is why? There are blanks that need filling in in this story. A person can’t just be removed from a will. What does a sibling on Medicaid have to do with receiving their share of the will? If they are on Medicaid I am sure they could use the extra money that mom left and not have two siblings try to cheat them out of it.
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A will cannot be changed after the death of the person, no. She cannot be removed. However, if she is on aid there are ways that her portion of the inheritance can be protected for her use I THINK. You honestly need either a lawyer on the forum to show up or you need to get a lawyer, elder care specializing, because this could hard siblings medicaid. As to property that is inherited by several siblings, if one wants to sell it, then that is generally the way it is done; it is sold. I would consult a lawyer. Only he or she can give you rock solid info for rules in your state, and for us to do so on something this crucial would likely not be a good thing.
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You should consult a lawyer. The interests of all the siblings need to be represented, and it's possible the interests could conflict, so the sibling on Medicaid might need his or her own lawyer. Here are some considerations:
1) Wills can't be rewritten after death.
2) People on Medicaid typically can't disclaim inheritances.
3) The inheritance probably will cause the sibling on Medicaid to go over the asset limit.
4) If the sibling on Medicaid goes over the asset limit, the sibling probably will be ineligible for Medicaid until the sibling is again under the asset limit.
5) The sibling presumably will want to continue or resume receiving Medicaid benefits.
6) A special needs trust might be a possibility, but the rules for these are precise and stringent. Definitely not a DIY project; a lawyer or an organization that specializes in this area of law should be consulted about whether an SNT is a possibility and how to set one up.
7) A buyout probably will be the best available option, even if less than desirable for the other siblings.
Good luck. Please make sure your sibling on Medicaid is protected.
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NeedHelpWithMom Sep 2019
Good points, especially to make sure that the sibling on Medicaid is protected.
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How old is your sister & what Medicaid program is she on & when did she go onto Medicaid? The answers will make a difference as to what type of recoup will be needed, if any, for Medicaid. Like if she’s 43 and it’s low income Medicaid she’s on, there no recovery. Recovery is for those on any Medicaid continuous care programs over age 55, like a NH or mental health services, even community based programs.

But as Medicaid is an “at need” program across the board, so her being paid her 1/3 share of the value of mom’s house, will be considered income to her the month received and an assets afterwards. It’s gonna take her over Medicaid income limits, unless it can go into a special needs trust or she has disease / disability that could fit into ABLE act account for the $.

the Estate property was your mom’s, so if you’ve opened probate, it’s an asset of mom's Estate. It hasn’t yet been distributed, it’s still “owned” by the Estate. Whomever is the Executor can push off doing a distribution if need be. My experience is only if mom died having secured creditors (like she still had a mortgage) do you have to do something quickly. Executor can take time. This gives you all time to plan how to deal with property transfer so that your sibling benefits best. I’d ask your probate attorney for names of estate planning attorneys or disability rights atty if siblings on Medicaid due to disability.

since you want to keep the house, I’d really really suggest you get it appraised. This way you have a solid, hard figure both to enter into probate as asset value but also to use for planning the split to the penny.
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igloo572 Sep 2019
Also WhiteHouse, whether you think it’s “fair” or not does not matter.
Im not trying to be all sassy but If your mom did her will to have 3 kids and her cat as equal heirs to her Estate, that is what needs to happen. What’s in the Will is beyond difficult to change.

As Rosered6 posted (fabulous post btw!), the heir can opt to disclaim an inheritance but if Medicaid is involved for a heir that will be considered an asset to them whether or not they take it. I had this situation as Executor for an aunt & although Medicaid was not involved the paperwork to do it was daunting. When Executor does a distribution they have to file it in probate court and nowadays need to send out a w9 request to those getting distribution & so do an irs tax filing for the amount distributed. It will show up eventually.

Whitehouse - Your post reads that mom has a home & other property..... if that’s it, whomever is named Executor in the Will is going to need $ to administer the Estate. It’s not just a home that maybe you could do small Estate affidavits or muniment of title on. Unless mom left a good bit of $$$ or had a life insurance policy with $ that has the Estate Of as her beneficiary, assets are going to have to be sold to pay for Estate costs eventually. Or Executor pays out of thier own purse or wallet and then files those costs as administrator claim against the Estate. What you all are abt to be hit with is likely significantly higher property taxes as that home now no longer under homestead exemption. Could be HUGE increase. Property taxes do need to be paid; tax assessor will place it up for tax sale if not. You don’t want to go there.

Really please please before this goes on into 2020 try to meet with probate atty to see what needs to happen to be able to make things timely transfer for everybody’s best interest & wallet.
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This isn’t as straight forward as you might hope and I don’t think there is one correct answer. Much is going to depend on the state both the property and your sibling are in (is it the same?) because both estate and Medicaid laws and procedures are going to differ some state by state, as well as some of the other details like how much is the estate worth and what is the status of your siblings Medicaid, needs and reason for qualifying so really bot an estate attorney (maybe the one who drew up the estate?) and one familiar with Medicaid and elder planning (they can often be the same attorney at least in CT) really should be consulted. The funds for the attorney could come out of the estate so you all share in the cost if you choose but it really is your best bet in order to properly cover everyone best. IMHO anyway
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Buy out ..pay off the siblings 1/3 portion of the equity of the homes apprasied value.Get sibling to sign off by getting document drawn up either by elder law attorney or get forms from Legal Zoom.Com
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igloo572 Sep 2019
If the mom has died, it’s imo not an elder law atty issue. They need atty who does probate. Whatever type of transfer happens will go through probate court & probate laws for the state. They need atty who has online filing or standing for probate court.

If theres more than a paid off house or car, it’s not likely to ever be simple filing, like a small estates affidavit. They will need to do an Assets of the Estate filing in PC with documentation as to how value derived. It’s not simple. Can you DIY it, maybe? but you have to be very paralegal level courthouse savvy. To me it’s too risky to DIY. I’ve been Executor x3, know more than I ever thought I needed to know, have done tax sales & there’s no way I would ever, ever DIY an estate unless it was only a single low value fully owned homestead as the only asset and going to a single heir who I had a great relationship with before all this.
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Like to comment - I sure hope I'm misunderstanding OP - But please, please, do not try to ignore the provisions of a will and "fix" things as you see fit.  Had relatives do this - and years later, to this day in fact, the mess has not been untangled, nor probably ever will be.  It's like trying to dispose of a body in a pond - sooner or later, it will rise.  Get legal advice and do it right.
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I don’t understand your question. Can you give more details please?

I guess you would have to speak to an attorney about changing a will.

Lots of blank and spaces to fill in here. Mom divided the property equally. Why cut out your sibling? How does sibling being on Medicaid effect the issue?

How large is the property? You said you would have to sell a piece of it. Why don’t you want to sell it if mom wanted the property split up and you and your other sibling can keep remaining portion for yourselves?
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Lymie61 Sep 2019
I think the OP was thinking that if they sold a lot it would net enough revenue to buy out the siblings 1/3 of the property/house so the other two could keep it. It also sounds to me that OP is trying to be cognizant of the sibling on Medicare and do what’s best for them too not simply cut them out. There are 2 considerations here, keeping the family property in the family and not jeprodisring the one siblings Medicaid status because they obviously need it.
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Others on this forum are attorneys and can give more specific advice for your sticky situation. Who is the executor of your mom's estate? Is your sibling mentally capable? If not, who is her financial PoA? These answers will help...thx
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It is likely that since two of the three of you don't want to sell that your sibling's share would be considered unavailable to her and not affect her eligibility.
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