Using his power of attorney, thinking he is protecting her assets from Medicare, my brother put my mother's stocks into his own account without my knowledge or hers. I have power of attorney as well. He refused to make it a joint account after she and I found out. He just promises he will give me my share when the time comes. He is using the dividends to pay some of her bills - not his own use. Was this legal? Should I trust him?
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I strongly suggest that you discuss this problem with an attorney. Your brother's actions are strange and he clearly wants financial control of your mother's money. If this is the first time he has done this, it will not be the last.
A possible and perhaps even probable problem: If your brother is trying to avoid Medicare finding about your mother's assets, it is very easy for Medicare to "follow the money" and find out that your brother, as POA, transferred funds to hide your mother's assets. Your mother can lose all Medicare benefits and Medicare can file criminal charges against your mother, your brother, and you.
Medicare doesn't care what your assets are. Medicare is federal. What you're talking about is Medicaid eligibility determined by the state you live in. Medicaid does "look back" 5 years from the date of application to see if any transfer of money or assets was made.
There seems to be a lot of misunderstanding about what Medicare & Medicaid will "do".
Medicaid will definitely check assets and will go back 5 years. They will take "action" if they find that anyone associated with that individual has deliberately moved, sold or "used" any assets belonging to that person. Medicaid will even look VERY closely at anything that individual has given to anyone (family or others). This does not mean that someone cannot have legitimately given anything away in the 5 previous years, but you may have to prove that no one involved knew this person was going to have to be placed in a nursing home.
Medicare is another thing entirely -
I live in Florida so the things I will describe are some of the things Florida Medicare may/will do. Always remember. Each case is different no matter where you live.
The following is my understanding of how Florida Medicare "works" and I have recently been through their process with a family member:
Florida Medicare does not "check" the assets of anyone (who is not qualified for Medicaid) being placed in a nursing home But, - their assets have to be listed on the admitting form.
Medicare only pays a certain portion of the entire bill. Some things they do not pay at all (such as personal care items) so the person responsible for the individual's finances will be billed for the 20% that Medicare does not cover and also for any personal items needed/used for their care. This cost rises quickly!!!
Then - Medicare only pays for a certain number of days in a nursing home - after that is exhausted, someone else is responsible for that cost. This cost can be tremendous! (My family member s cost was approx. 200 dollars a day). Medicare expects payment from that person's assets. The nursing home's finance department keeps excellent records! Medicare does not "kick" the person out for not paying but they will do everything legally possible to be reimbursed the money they pay out.
First - Florida Medicare will go after any and all bank accounts - then they will go for other assets and will attach a lien on any real estate, including the home of the individual. Their attorneys will go to almost any extent to get Medicare's money and they do check to see if anyone has done anything with assets the same as Medicaid does.
Now, once they have "found" all of the assets, they may determine that it would be best to place that person on Medicaid, but, - that will/does not remove any of the previous debt. Also, not all nursing homes will accept Medicaid and the person may have to be moved to another facility.
Sometimes (Florida) Medicaid or Medicare just places a lien on property and you may not even know it until the person dies and someone tries to sell the property.
As I stated at the beginning - I have just finished dealing with a problem like this and it was frightening to say the least.
I believe anyone thinking about placing someone in a nursing home should consult an attorney who knows what Medicare and Medicaid does in THEIR state.
As I understand it (now), Florida may be one of the toughest in collecting money and your state may not do any of these things. Also, I do not know that even Florida does this all the time but most of this did happen to our family.
Any time people start moving money around to make themselves, or in this case, your mother, look poor when they are have assets, it can be problematic. If I were you, I would consult an attorney.
There are 3 siblings one of which is executer. All 3 own the home equally which is expressed in will, does the executer have the right to change locks on said home, keeping other 2 siblings out? And only allowing entry if they are present?
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