I need to reduce my Moms assets in case she needs to go to nursing home?

My mom has a little savings and owns her own home. What do I need to do to reduce her assets so that she will qualify for finacial aid for nursing home care. If I transfer any money to me, how will that affect my tax libility.

The rules changed in 2007. To qualify for Medicaid, your Mom can have no more than $2,000 in cash (checking account, savings account, 401K, IRA, stocks, bonds) and cannot own a home. To shield the house talk to a lawyer who specializes in elder estate planning. They can set up a trust to shield all assets. Medicaid pays all costs in a nursing home.
PS. The look back is 5 years, not 2-3 years.

Why not use the money from the sale of her home to pay for a good nursing home. Do you want to put your mother in a home that is cash strapped and only allows $7 a day for all her daily food? One in which the staff is so overworked and understaffed that they have no patience and don't treat the residents very good? Financial aid should be used for those that really need it, your Mom doesn't need it.

Think about how she is going to live the last years of her life....she took care of you, it's time for you to make sure she is taken care of properly instead of looking to scam the government and take your Mom's money.

let us hope your mother doesn't go into a nursing home anytime soon.

I've been told that there is a three year window looking backward from when the person needs to enter the home -- if the Medicaid people find any questionable asset transfers during that period, eligibility is denied.

what is supposed to happen is the person who will receive the care spends their own assets for the care. Transfers to relatives during the three year period look like attempts to get Medicaid to pay instead and so eligibility is denied.

See a lawyer. A person can give large 'one time` gifts
without tax penalties, but in qualfying her for financial
aid, they may look for, and disallow such going two
or three years back.

I'm no expert on getting medicaid to pay for nursing home care, but with regard to transfering assets/money to you, if your mother doesn't have enough money to qualify for estate taxes (its like 1 or 2 million for individuals, more if she set up the proper trust when your father died) then I think the money is transfered tax free except for inheritance tax which varies from state to state. Income tax isn't owed on anything. If she does have to worry about estate taxes, then she can give you 11 or 12000 estate tax free every year. Also, any assets she holds can be transfered to you at the original basis, so the home she paid 12K for in 1970 thats worth 250K now only counts against the estate at 12K. However, you'll have to pay capital gains if you sell that home, so don't transfer assets that way unless its to avoid estate taxes.

The best idea for your mom's well-being is to use the pofits from the sale of her home and her few assets. Otherwise, her care will be sub-standard, and nobody in their right mind would transfer assets to you, so that she would have to suffer the indignities of horrible living conditions.

You pay for her care with the money she has "saved" with appreciation of the value of her home. She saved it; she should get to spend it for the best care possible.

Careful......there is something called a "lookback period"....You start spending down her assets too rapidly and she can be penalized for Medicare/Medicaid qualifications....

You need to see an Elder Law attorney....