Living Trust
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Living Trust
My Mother put her house in a living trust in2001 and now she has dementia and will need to go to an assisted living/memory unit. My sibling and I will need sell her house what should happen to the money, go for her care or put in a trust until she passes?
Asked on May 23, 2009 under Estate Planning, Minnesota
Answers:
B. B., Member, New Jersey Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 15 years ago | Contributor
This will depend on a number of things, possibly, including how the trust is worded and whether she will need Medicaid to pay for her care. You should talk to an attorney experienced in elder law, and have her or him review the trust document, before you go ahead with anything. One place to find qualified lawyer is our website, http://attorneypages.com
You cannot get Medicaid benefits unless you are basically out of money -- the last time I looked at this, the limit was $2,000, and depending on how the trust was set up, part of the value of the house might still be considered hers, for this purpose. There is no way to change the result now, by selling the property to one of you or a relative, for less than it is worth, because Medicaid can "look back" up to three years for that sort of deal.
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