If you are planning an estate, you may have may questions. Here is what you need to know about primary residence exemption.
As an experienced Buffalo Medicaid Law Attorney, I am often asked about primary residence exemption. There is a primary residence exemption. It has an equity exemption up to $828,000, which covers most people here in this area. Down state it doesn’t cover people completely. Your primary residence if you have an exemption up to $828,000, the nursing home applicant himself will initially qualify for Medicaid, but if you intend on returning home and are there for at least six months or so, the house will no longer be exempt. You can transfer your residence to your spouse and it’s completely exempt. There is not penalty for that. That can be done. There again, you might need a power of attorney to do that. That’s a common misconception; you can’t sign for your spouse as far as transferring real estate or if you were to sell it you couldn’t sign for your spouse if your spouse was mentally or physically incapable of signing the deed. There again, a very valuable use of a power of attorney.
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Primary Residence Exemption | Disability
If you have minor disabled or blind children, you can transfer the residence to them into a trust and you will not be penalized. There is something else – a sibling with an equity interest. If you have a brother or sister who has been living with you for the past year and they’ve been helping with the expenses, you can transfer the house to your brother or your sister and there’s no penalty for doing that either. It’s another protection of your real estate. If you have a caregiver child who has been living there for two years up until the time you go into the nursing home, there again you can transfer the house to the child and you would need a power of attorney to do that if you’re not physically able to do that. Very often, the child has been living there for fifty years or sixty years. There is not a question of how long. It’s usually the child who never left home. You can transfer the house to them. There is no penalty and you will qualify for Medicaid and you are protecting the house for that purpose.
If you have any further questions about a primary residence exemption, please call our Buffalo estate planning lawyers.