I recently spoke with a woman who told me her family had been paying for her mother’s skilled nursing care for years because her mom had given her home to her children and they were trying to get through the five-year lookback period.
Do you have to wait five years to apply for Medicaid after making a gift of your property?
Many people are under the mistaken impression that if they transfer their home or other assets, they can’t qualify for Medicaid to help pay for the cost of their nursing home stay for five years.
When a person applies for Medicaid to help cover the cost of their long-term care, the Medicaid caseworker will inquire whether any assets have been transferred during the five years before they applied. If any money or property was transferred during this five year “look back” period, the person may be ineligible for Medicaid for a period of time. The ineligibility period is not, however, five years.
The length of time a person is ineligible for Medicaid due to a gift is based on the value of the asset transferred – it is not five years.
This period of Medicaid ineligibility can range from only a month to several years. If you’ve given away a very valuable piece of property, it may make sense to wait until that gift is outside of the five-year look back period. But for other transfers, the ineligibility period may expire long before five years.
If you or a family member have transferred a house or other assets and now need skilled nursing care, consult with an Elder Law attorney to determine when to apply for Medicaid. The attorney can help you determine if waiting five years is necessary to qualify for Medicaid or if you might be eligible sooner. A lawyer can also help you with strategies to reduce or eliminate an ineligibility period.
Amanda Spence is a Raleigh Elder Law Attorney who has been assisting clients in Wake, Johnston, Harnett and other counties throughout North Carolina for thirty years. If you need help with an Elder Law or Medicaid issue, contact her at 919-863-4183 or [email protected] to schedule a consultation.