My husband may be looking at going to an ALF or mental health hospital soon. We're not rich, but have acquired 4 homes in 22 years of marriage. 2 were inherited and promised to go to our daughter, the other 2 we live in. He draws too much for Medicaid and only has medicare. I have cancer, but am stable so far. We don't want to sell everything we struggled to get and hold on to in hopes of helping our daughter financially upon our deaths and honor the wishes of those that left us their homes and properties for her. How will we pay for something like this? Since I wont be the one going into an ALF how does that affect me financially? We have always had joint accounts and I can't afford to live month to month on what I draw (under $700). Please help!! I DON'T know what to do at this point and am getting frazzled at best.
There is a circumstance in which you could be forced to sell property. If your husband is found incompetent and the court assigns a guardian other than YOU, in which case the guardian decides what happens to assets owned fully or jointly by your husband. Court guardians are not required to make the same provisions for spousal support that Medicaid is under the law. You would be well-served to get a lawyer to protect the interests of yourself and your husband. You need one that is certified with Medicaid, Medicare (if you are disabled at some point that program will cover you), and disability law. I am really sorry that you are struggling to figure out how to pay for your own care and leave something for your 20 year old daughter. The sad truth is that with the advances in medicine and the costs of treatment, most of us especially if we have a disability will outlive our resources and not have any inheritance to leave family unless we protect it legally in a trust 5 years in advance. And you don't have that option any more. Find a good lawyer, today if you can.
Your husband's mental capacity.
Your husband's ongoing care needs.
Your own prognosis and care needs.
Any existing restrictions on what may be done with parts of the property.
Managing your income, jointly and individually.
You say there has already been judicial input into this: is your husband the subject of a guardianship order? And what legal advice have you had so far?
While it’s nice to want to leave your children an inheritance of some sort, it may not be reasonable to expect it as someone has to pay for Long Term care. Generally Assisted living is not paid by insurance and is paid from the family’s bank account.
In other words, you may have to sell one of your homes to pay out of pocket for hubby’s assisted living fees.
You describe the 2 Homes you inherited as older homes that need a lot of work. Would your 20 y/o want to deal with all that?
No government funded source (Medicaid) will pay assisted living fees (although I have learned from this site that an AL might do this after a period of private pay ie 18 months). Medicare will not. Do you have long term care insurance? If so this may help to pay some of AL costs.
If you need Medicaid you will have to spend down your spouse’s income although there are provisions made for the spouse not to be impoverished.
It may be easier going forward to begin to accept that you may have to sell a few of your properties and that your children may not get as large an inheritance as you may have wanted.
A good thing is that you have assets that can be sold to pay for your spouses care.
Good luck to you!
They could be rented out with income going into the trust.
See an elder law attorney for financial planning and estate planning. Don't wait.
"The doctors" are not in charge of your income and assets!