Missouri Elder Legal Questions

You are correct.  Selling her home will most likely make her ineligible for Medicaid because she can only have $999.99 in available assets.  She can rent it, but the rental income would be considered her personal income and would most likely raise her monthly spend-down amount by exactly the amount of the rent.  It is possible for her just to transfer the house outright, but if it is likely that she would need nursing care in the next five years and she was depending on Medicaid to pay for her skilled nursing care, then she would have to deal with a transfer penalty for transferring the asset within the five-year look-back period which would make her ineligible for Medicaid to pay for her skilled nursing care for a number of months based upon the value of the transfer. There are certainly solutions to your problem, but there is not one "right" answer as everyone has different priorities.  I wouldn't do anything before consulting with an elder law attorney.... Read More

I don't see any problem with selling or renting this property, certainly if that is what mom wants to do and she is competent to make that decision and all of the children are on board with it.  I would certainly see an attorney to make sure that any deed for the sale of the property takes into account that your mom currently retains a life estate in the property.  Is your mother on Medicaid?... Read More

It depends on the circumstances surrounding the creation of the trust and the trust language itself.  Assuming your father had the capacity to create the trust in 2009 and there was no undue influence on behalf of your sibling, I would then move to the language of the trust.  If the trust gives your sibling the authority to do what he is doing, then I don't know that you have any particular remedy as his heir to challenge this.   I also don't know why your sibling would have any legal obligation to provide receipts to you unless you are a current beneficiary of the trust.  Would your father have to provide you receipts for what he was choosing to spend his money on?  No.    Having said the above, this all goes out the window if there is elder abuse that is occurring.  If you truly believe that your sibling is exercising undue influence over your father with respect to his finances or that he didn't have the mental capacity to create the original trust, you can certainly contact the MO Department of Health and Senior Services to file a claim for elder abuse as well as file a claim in civil court contemporaneously with an action to have a guardian/conservator appointed for your father.  I think that that is an absolute last resort as there are a number of issues with guardianship/conservatorship that might actually make the current situation preferable.   But remember, if you believe that your father did not or does not have capacity, the court's presumption is that your father has capacity and you will have the burden of proving that he does not.  I would be very hesitant to exercise this option unless and until you consult with an elder law attorney who can more closely examine the merits of your case.  ... Read More