In this day and age, there is no denying that prices for most things are skyrocketing and skilled care for an aging parent is no exception. If an aging parent’s health has declined significantly enough, the parent could face the prospect of admission to a nursing home despite their children’s best efforts to keep them living in their home. Medicaid planning performed by a skilled lawyer or financial planner can help ease the financial burden of nursing home care by ensuring the best possibility of acceptance into the Rhode Island Medicaid program.
Normally, one of the most valuable assets an aging parent owns is their home. Unless it is properly protected, the Rhode Island Department of Health and Human Services will seek to recover against the home upon the passing of the Medicaid recipient for any benefits provided during life. This is known as State Recovery. For those families that have not planned in advance, one way to protect a home against State Recovery, which is often overlooked, is the caregiver child exception. This allows an elderly person to transfer their primary residence to their adult child who has been caring for the parent.
To benefit from this exception, the child must live in the home and show, to the State’s satisfaction, that he or she served as the primary caregiver of the parent for at least two years immediately before admission to the nursing home. 210-RICR-50-00-6.5.3 (B)(2)(e)(4). The care that the child renders must be such that it enables the parent to continue to live at home and delays the parent from needing to enter a nursing home during that two-year period. While this sounds easy enough, the State interprets this exception extremely strictly and documentation is required. When beginning the process of Medicaid planning or attempting to use the caregiver child exception when earlier planning has not been done, it is advisable to seek competent legal assistance.
If you have questions about Medicaid planning, please contact PLDO Partner Gene M. Carlino or Attorney Paige E. Macnie at 401-824-5100, gmcarlino@pldolaw.com or pmacnie@pldolaw.com.
