Elder Law Answers
Part B Premium Will Rise Slightly for Most Medicare Beneficiaries in 2017
After holding steady at $104.90 a month for four years, the standard Medicare Part B premium that most recipients pa...
Read moreDo I Qualify for Medicaid's Caretaker Exemption If I Took a Six-Month Break in Caring for My Parents?
- October 31st, 2018
Q
I would like to know whether I would qualify for the caretaker exemption under Medicaid rules if my parents transferred their home to me. I have been caring for my elderly parents in their home in New York State for more than two years. However, for a period of approximately six months I transferred them to an assisted living facility in Florida. They paid for the assisted living themselves, and Medicaid was not involved. They are now back at home, and I am continuing to care for them. Will that six-month period need to be deducted from the overall time I have cared for them or will a newtwo-year period of eligibility have to start following the date they returned home?
A
That’s a good question. Unfortunately, you probably cannot just deduct the six-month period. The federal Medicaid statute exempts transfers of the home to a caretaker child "who was residing in [the Medicaid applicant’s] home for a period of at least two years immediately before the date the individual" moves to a nursing home. The use of the word "immediately" would be the problem in your case due to the six-month gap. If you continued to live in the home for the six months your parents were in Florida, you would technically meet the residency requirement. The problem is that most Medicaid agencies also apply the "immediately" requirement to providing the care. I would check with your local Medicaid office or a New York elder law attorney to see if they could provide an answer on local practices. To find an attorney near you, click here.
Local Elder Law Attorneys in Ashburn, VA
Meet Evan Farr
(703) *** ****
Learn more
Evan Farr
Farr Law Firm
In practice since 1987, Fairfax Attorney Evan Farr is widely recognized as one of the leading Elder Law, Estate Planning, and Specials Needs attorneys in Virginia and one of foremost experts in the Country in the field of Medicaid Asset Protection and related Trusts. Evan Farr has been quoted or cited as an expert by n...
(703) *** ****
Tell us about your legal issue and we will put you in touch with Evan Farr.
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 Margaret O'Reilly
(703) *** ****
Learn more
Margaret O'Reilly
Margaret A. O'Reilly, PC
Margaret A. O’Reilly is an estate planning and elder law attorney with over thirty-five years of legal experience. Attorney O’Reilly graduated from Duke University with a degree in psychology, and received her law degree from Northeastern University School of Law in Boston, Massachusetts. For over 15 y...
(703) *** ****
Tell us about your legal issue and we will put you in touch with Margaret O'Reilly.
