Elder Law Answers
Can I Take My Mother Out of a Nursing Home Over the Objections of Her Agent Under a POA?
My eldest brother, who is my mom's agent under a power of attorney, has put my mom in a nursing home. She does not wan...
Read moreCan Medicaid Take My Mother's Settlement Money From a Lawsuit Against the Nursing Home?
- September 13th, 2017
Q
My mother went into a nursing home six years ago after she broke her hip. She receives Medicaid benefits. We intended for her to get therapy and return home, but while she was in the nursing home, she was severely injured in a fall and now cannot leave the nursing home. She sued the nursing home and received a little more than $25,000 in a settlement. Now Medicaid wants the money that was awarded to her to pay for her care. How can this happen? It should be illegal. Medicaid should make the nursing home be responsible for their neglect and my mother's health from now forward. Is there any way for my mother to keep this money to be used for her final expenses?
A
This is a problem when a nursing home resident who is covered by Medicaid, as most nursing home residents are, files a lawsuit against a nursing facility. In order to get Medicaid coverage, nursing home residents must spend down all of their money. If they receive money from any source, including a lawsuit, it must then be spent down. This is something the law firm should have discussed with your family before bringing the lawsuit. Some states allow transfers to a pooled disability trust, which would permit the funds to be used for your mother’s benefit. Any funds left in the trust at your mother's death would have to be paid to the state. To see if this avenue is available where your mother lives, contact a pooled trust in your state. Here’s a directory of pooled trusts: http://specialneedsanswers.com/pooled-trust.
Local Elder Law Attorneys in Ashburn, VA
Meet William Fralin
(301) *** ****
Learn more
William Fralin
The Estate Planning & Elder Law Firm PC
Bill founded The Estate Planning & Elder Law Firm, P.C. in 1994. Bill limits his practice to the areas of estate planning and administration, incapacity planning, Medicaid, asset protection planning, and elder law. He is one of (15) fifteen attorneys practicing in Virginia, Maryland and the District of Columbia, ce...
(301) *** ****
Tell us about your legal issue and we will put you in touch with William Fralin.
Meet Jean Ball
(703) *** ****
Learn more
Jean Ball
Hale Ball Carlson Baumgartner Murphy PLC
Jean Galloway Ball is certified in Elder Law by the National Elder Law Foundation. She is a 1977 honors graduate of the National Law Center, George Washington University, and she did her undergraduate work at the University of California at Berkeley, graduating Phi Beta Kappa in 1971. She is admitted to practice in Vir...
(703) *** ****
Tell us about your legal issue and we will put you in touch with Jean Ball.
Meet Loretta Williams
(703) *** ****
Learn more
Loretta Williams
Hale Ball Carlson Baumgartner Murphy PLC
Loretta Morris Williams is a certified elder law attorney by the National Elder Law Foundation. Ms. Williams was admitted to the Council of Advanced Practitioners, National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys (NAELA) in 2012. She serves as President of the Virginia Academy of Elder Law Attorneys. Ms. Willia...
(703) *** ****
Tell us about your legal issue and we will put you in touch with Loretta Williams.
