Medi-Cal and Home Asset Transfer

June 22, 2009 12:23 PM

Medi-Cal and Asset Transfers

My divorced mother aged 65+ has been on Medi-Cal via SSI/SSP eligibility, but is losing that due to the SSP cutback coming next month. Assuming she re-qualifies for full-spectrum Medi-Cal coverage through the Aged & Disabled FPL qualification (which she should if I'm reading it right), what are the rules about transferring the title to her paid-off house to me?

Would tranferring the house make her lose *all* Medi-Cal benefits or just the Long Term Care Assistance coverage? Mr Google is unclear on this point.

She should not require going to a care home for the foreseeable future, likely longer than the lookback period but I can move in to help if need be.

(I also see that if I do this for two years immediately prior to her going to a care facility then there's no issue with transferring the home)

posted by @troy to law & government (5 comments total)

You absolutely need an (elder care) attorney for this kind of stuff. The rules can be complex, and if its done incorrectly you often find out at the worst, most stressful possible moment. Hire an attorney.
posted by anastasiav at 1:51 PM on June 22

NAELA Member Directory. There are so many ways this can go wrong it's not funny. You need an attorney to set this up for you so that the assets are not seized or the eligibility is not annulled.
posted by dhartung at 8:27 PM on June 22

yeah, well, there's always Len Tillem I guess. He answers simple questions at least.
posted by @troy at 9:25 PM on June 22

The point, @, is that this is not a simple question.
posted by megatherium at 5:17 AM on June 23

The facts are.

1. Mom owns the home.
2. Go to country recorder and she deeds it to me.
3. What would be the fall-out effects to Medicare and Medi-Cal.

The online sources I've found so far talk about losing Long-term care benefits, but not about her Medi-Cal coverage itself.

Granted, if she loses full-spectrum Medi-Cal but there are complicated legal procedures available to shelter the value of the property from Medi-Cal while retaining benefits, that would not be a simple answer. But that's not the answer to my question.
posted by @troy at 10:48 AM on June 23