No, they won’t be held liable. The money will be theirs. But if you were to apply for Medicaid coverage within the following five years, the gifts would make you ineligible for benefits for a period of time after you spent down the rest of your savings. While the calculation differs from state to state, you could anticipate about seven months of noncoverage.
Harry S. Margolis practices elder law, estate, and special needs planning in Boston and Wellesley, Massachusetts. He is the founder of ElderLawAnswers.com and answers consumer questions about estate planning issues here and at AskHarry.info.
