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The OP in that thread is very embittered because he/she believes that his/her parent's need for long term care is depriving him/her of his/her "inheritance". He/she wants the government to pay for his/her parent's care despite the fact that the parent has assets.
If your father has to go into a nursing home and runs out of Medicare eligibility, then he will have to pay for it from his SS monies and any other income that he has. If Medicaid has to pay for his nursing home stay, then Medicaid will try to recoup its costs out of the proceeds of his estate if he has any assets. The rest of the estate monies would go to his heirs I believe.
Your father doesn't go into a nursing home, then the government is not going to take your father's estate. He does need to have a will, however, to limit legal hassles ... and costs.
I would think the goverments will get nothing,unless he is taking financial aid from the goverments.The tax payers will get repaid what ever his estate has.
The Federal gov does not tax estates until they are over 5 million and Fl does not tax.
However, to make things simpler and quicker, he should have a will. Your brother and your father should also discuss giving your brother a power of attorney for both financial and health care issues. Someone will eventually need to make medical decisions for him and will need to be able to access his funds to pay for care.
This is my worry too and I have mentioned multiple times. But there are stubbornness on some of my relatives, so I'm in the camp that I've tried. My conscience is clear. If it does happen, I won't beat up myself too badly.
I have to worry about my health, I won't waste time convincing anyone anymore.
as far as i know he has no other assets and has a pension income of about $2K a month.
......
Another concern is he told me he hasnt filed income tax since he retired 20 years ago,stating in his opinion he didnt make enough money to pay any income tax so why bother filing.
I got a feeling this action on his part is going to come back and bite us in the butt.
Thanks for any info/advice
If the pension is other than SS, you might not be able to probate the estate until the back returns are filed. 24k a year is well above the floor required for filing. The government won't take his house/assets, but you won't be able to get them either until the tax issue is settled.
I think you need to consult with a good attorney. My father died in testate while my parents were in the process of a divorce. My father had no will. The house then would pass to my mother, my brother and I. My brother and I signed papers to have the house go to our mother. She never filed the papers. She died in testate as well.
John had access to a politically connected attorney and he was able to keep the house out of probate and transfer ownership to John and I after we bought my brother out. We've owned it since 1992. We want to sell it in another two years or so and do an exchange for a vacation property. I'll have an attorney friend do a title search for me to make sure we can sell it without any snags. I don't foresee any issues after owning it and paying taxes on it for twenty five years, but you never know. I wouldn't attempt to do anything without a good attorney, nor should you.
After reading a recent topic on inheritance i get the impression that the government gets everything when parents die=The Poor - Middle Class, why bother trying?
In my situation my Dad lives in Florida Bro lives a few miles away ,me and sis live in Canada. Dad is 90 cant hear,cant walk,he basically lives on a mobility scooter. ,goes to dialysis 3X a week, he lives alone in a big house and will not entertain the thought of a nursing home or senior assisted living facility or even having a maid come over a couple of times a week to clean up., The house he lives in is worth around $300K,as far as i know he has no other assets and has a pension income of about $2K a month.,while me Bro and sis are financially secure i'd hate to see the proceeds of his estate ultimately go to the government rather than his children.
What are my options to legally avoid giving all his hard earned estate to the government?
I'm thinking should he transfer ownership of the house to my brother before he passes?
Another concern is he told me he hasnt filed income tax since he retired 20 years ago,stating in his opinion he didnt make enough money to pay any income tax so why bother filing.
I got a feeling this action on his part is going to come back and bite us in the butt.
Thanks for any info/advice
Florida estate tax is tied to the Federal law and everything that I'm seeing indicates that your father's estate is well below the federal threshold which is in the millions. What is your problem however is the 24K that your father makes a year. Here is a publication that you should find useful: https://www.irs.gov/publications/p17/index.html
Find out how much that the IRS is withholding from his pension and SS. He might be in the clear. The time that this becomes a real problem is the 30 day period during probate that your father's creditors must make themselves known. Whether that includes the Federal gov't, I don't know.
Find out how much that the IRS is withholding from his pension and SS. He might be in the clear. The time that this becomes a real problem is the 30 day period during probate that your father's creditors must make themselves known. Whether that includes the Federal gov't, I don't know.
In most states, the list of creditors that must be satisfied to settle an estate is in this order:
1. Funeral expenses
2. Executor's estate administration expenses
3. Taxes - Federal, state, and local
4. All other creditors
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