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You might qualify for Medicaid. They pay for nursing home stays. You can have a home worth 505,000 dollars and still qualify. You do not have to sell your home even after you pass if your spouse or someone else in your family were living there and it was thier primary residence. Your spouse can stay in your home.
While it is true that the spouse (often) can stay in the house, they may not be able to pay the taxes, mortgage, repair costs and utilities, as well as their other bills on the monthly "allowance" allowed by your state (I believe $2,000 to $2,500 a month in my state, plus $50,000 in cash assets/savings).
And, some states are very strict about forcing a house to be sold after both of the spouses die (the one in the nursing home and the one living in the house) to collect the money spend on Medicaid. So you can not just assume that your children will inherit the house if a parent is on Medicaid.
See an elder care attorney in your state.
Last edited by germaine2626; 07-06-2019 at 03:39 PM..
We have a great New York State partnership plan for long term care ....we took 3 years insurance and now all assets are protected ..there is no look back , no trusts , no nothing needed ..plus the stay at home spouse is allowed unlimited income ....a special version of Medicaid was created to pay the bills after the 3 years insurance was up with no financial restrictions ...
Only New York and I think Illinois offer total asset protection in their partnership plans .....every place else that has partnership plans is a dollar for a dollar ...if Medicaid spends 200k on care then 200k in assets are protected....New York offers a cheaper dollar for a dollar plan too but we opted for the more expensive total asset protection plan
While it is true that the spouse (often) can live in the house, they may not be able to pay the taxes, mortgage, repair costs and utilities, as well as their other bills on the monthly "allowance" allowed by your state (I believe $2,000 to $2,500 a month in my state, plus $50,000 in cash assets/savings).
And, some states are very strict about forcing a house to be sold after both of the spouses die (the one in the nursing home and the one living in the house) to collect the money spend on Medicaid. So you can not just assume that your children will inherit the house if a parent is on Medicaid.
See an elder care attorney in your state.
True
In our case, the state sent us a letter afterwards and said all claims against the estate were zero.
Sorry, didn't phrase that well, but it still comes from our taxes
It is welfare ...it does not mean because we all pay taxes we are entitled to welfare ......that analogy is wrong..if everyone went on welfare as a senior because they paid taxes our taxes would have to be raised to insane levels
I don't think I could put my spouse in the situation of having a miserable life in order to keep me, who is no longer me anyway, alive. I hope that I would have the sense before then to go suck some carbon monoxide.
I don't think I could put my spouse in the situation of having a miserable life in order to keep me, who is no longer me anyway, alive. I hope that I would have the sense before then to go suck some carbon monoxide.
Most states have laws against what amount to Medicaid divorces ..I know we do
It is welfare ...it does not mean because we all pay taxes we are entitled to welfare ......that analogy is wrong..if everyone went on welfare as a senior because they paid taxes our taxes would have to be raised to insane levels
yep, it is definitely welfare by definition, but I guess if everyone lives long enough and out lives their money...they reach a stage of entitlement Like it or not
I will put myself in the nursing home scenario but before I do let me say I am well aware of long term care insurance but some can not purchase it for any price due to pre-existing conditions. Let's assume I am one of those that can not purchase long term care insurance and haven't been able to for the last 10 years.
Home is paid for.
Car is relatively new and paid for.
Couple is certainly not rich. There's a total of between $80,000 and $100,000 in IRA's and savings accounts and that is it.
Husband and wife both receive social security which constitutes 75% of their total income.
Let's assume I develop severe memory problems and can no longer live at home and it is off to a nursing home where I will live at a cost of $70,000/year for the rest of my life.
What happens to the spouse and assets?
Under CA law not much will happen. In your scenario You can keep all of the assets and only loose $35 income. Living in a high tax state has its benefits
I will put myself in the nursing home scenario but before I do let me say I am well aware of long term care insurance but some can not purchase it for any price due to pre-existing conditions. Let's assume I am one of those that can not purchase long term care insurance and haven't been able to for the last 10 years.
Home is paid for.
Car is relatively new and paid for.
Couple is certainly not rich. There's a total of between $80,000 and $100,000 in IRA's and savings accounts and that is it.
Husband and wife both receive social security which constitutes 75% of their total income.
Let's assume I develop severe memory problems and can no longer live at home and it is off to a nursing home where I will live at a cost of $70,000/year for the rest of my life.
What happens to the spouse and assets?
You have mentioned in other posts that you are a Veteran, so you would likely be entitled to long term care at a state run Veterans Home.
A women I work with who is 57 and in her 20's married her husband who is 20 years older than her and is a Veteran, and for the exact reasons you mentioned last year last year she had to place her husband in a VA contract nursing home initially because there was no bed available at the local Veterans Home. Under a VA contract the VA paid for the 6 or so months that he was in a nursing home until a bed opened up at the Veterans Home, but he had to forfeit his Social Security check while in the nursing home as well as now at the Veterans Home and was left with a $50/month stipend. They do own a home that still has a mortgage which will not be touched by the State as well as his wife's pay and small amount of assets they had together, but with them being heavily dependent on his Social Security check to pay the mortgage this woman will likely be selling their home in the near future at best breakeven and move into an apartment with her sister to rent share. Following her husband's passing which will likely happen within the next several years as his health is rapidly declining, she will have the opportunity depending on her income level be able to collect a reduced Social Security survivor's benefit anytime after 60 and up to her widows FRA which is a few months earlier than her own FRA which is 67. Likely she will be working to her widow's FRA, claim her survivor benefit at that time and delay taking her own sometime between her FRA and 70.
If you are a Veteran you should not have too many concerns regarding paying for nursing home costs. But your wife may face some financial hardships while you are living in the Veterans Home or VA contract nursing home depending on how much she depends on your Social Security income to pay the bills as your SS benefit will go away during the time you are there. After your passing your wife will be able to claim a survivor's benefit on your SS account if it is higher than hers, but her benefit will go away in the process.
If you are 0-100% VA service connected disabled Veteran and currently receiving a VA disability pension that too I believe will go away during nursing home placement. But following your death if you are 100% SC your wife will be able to inherit a % of your VA disability pension, and I think she may be able to inherit some or all of your long term care VA benefit but only after you pass.
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