# What to do with Mom's house??? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [March 10, 2015, 1:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-to-do-with-moms-house/714659 "2015-03-10T01:35:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 4\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![slash2k](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/439d5e/32.png) [@slash2k](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/slash2k)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2015, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-to-do-with-moms-house/714659/21 "2015-03-10T19:54:08Z")
> [@stillownedbysetters](#): > > Then you’d have the proceeds, whatever they were, available for your mother’s care and you could write off the difference between the property’s value and its selling price as a charitable contribution. If you think your mother is now eligible or could be eligible within the look-back period (usually five years) for Medicaid-paid nursing care, then you DO NOT want to transfer the home for anything less than fair market value, even for charitable deductions or other write-offs. There are penalties involved that could affect her eligibility. If Medicaid/Medi-CAL might be in her future, talk to somebody who knows about your state’s rules about asset transfers before selling. You definitely should get rid of it, though, so putting the relatives on notice now while you are reviewing options for sale is a good idea. ---
**Author:** ![stillownedbysetters](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/41988e/32.png) [@stillownedbysetters](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stillownedbysetters)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2015, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-to-do-with-moms-house/714659/22 "2015-03-10T20:21:17Z")
> [@slash2k](#): > > If you think your mother is now eligible or could be eligible within the look-back period (usually five years) for Medicaid-paid nursing care, then you DO NOT want to transfer the home for anything less than fair market value, even for charitable deductions or other write-offs. There are penalties involved that could affect her eligibility. > > If Medicaid/Medi-CAL might be in her future, talk to somebody who knows about your state’s rules about asset transfers before selling. You definitely should get rid of it, though, so putting the relatives on notice now while you are reviewing options for sale is a good idea. That’s good to know. I was thinking the value of the charitable contribution would be claimed on the mother’s tax report, thus eliminating any possible tax issues, but I did not know this would negatively impact her eligibility for social welfare programs. Would the time elapsed between the asset transfer and her Medicaid application make any difference? Or would it be the same ding on the eligibility no matter how much time had elapsed? (serious question) ---
**Author:** ![slash2k](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/439d5e/32.png) [@slash2k](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/slash2k)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2015, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-to-do-with-moms-house/714659/23 "2015-03-10T20:50:09Z")
> [@stillownedbysetters](#): > > Would the time elapsed between the asset transfer and her Medicaid application make any difference? Or would it be the same ding on the eligibility no matter how much time had elapsed? (serious question) In my state (Kansas), the relevant time period is five years: transfers for less than fair market value within that time period are presumed to be for purposes of establishing Medicaid eligibility (and hence are subject to penalty) absent “clear and convincing evidence” otherwise. The social services manual for Kansas says that the longer the period of time that has elapsed between transfer and application, the more weight is to be given to the applicant’s evidence. (I can’t deep-link directly, but see [section 5723.3](http://content.dcf.ks.gov/EES/KEESM/Current/Home.htm)) Transfers more than five years ago are legally irrelevant. In your case, the fact that a relatively low-value asset half a continent away required substantial monthly expenditures to maintain might be adequately clear and convincing, but you should talk to somebody familiar with the rules and precedents in your state. The Area Agency on Aging in your locale might be a good place to start. ---
**Author:** ![stillownedbysetters](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/41988e/32.png) [@stillownedbysetters](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stillownedbysetters)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2015, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-to-do-with-moms-house/714659/24 "2015-03-10T20:51:49Z")
> [@slash2k](#): > > In my state (Kansas), the relevant time period is five years: transfers for less than fair market value within that time period are presumed to be for purposes of establishing Medicaid eligibility (and hence are subject to penalty) absent “clear and convincing evidence” otherwise. The social services manual for Kansas says that the longer the period of time that has elapsed between transfer and application, the more weight is to be given to the applicant’s evidence. (I can’t deep-link directly, but see [section 5723.3](http://content.dcf.ks.gov/EES/KEESM/Current/Home.htm)) Transfers more than five years ago are legally irrelevant. > > In your case, the fact that a relatively low-value asset half a continent away required substantial monthly expenditures to maintain might be adequately clear and convincing, but you should talk to somebody familiar with the rules and precedents in your state. The Area Agency on Aging in your locale might be a good place to start. Thank you, much appreciated. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-to-do-with-moms-house/714659.md?page=1)