Home Transfers And Retained Life Estates In New York State

Many people have the idea or the notion that they should be transferring their home to their children or making the mistake of adding their children on the deed to their home in order to “protect it from the nursing home” or to avoid NY probate.

There are many possible dangers and pitfalls of doing this without the proper legal advice from a NY elder law attorney who is well versed and experienced in Medicaid law and estate planning.

The general practice lawyer or real estate lawyer may end up doing a great disservice and creating a lot of future problems to an individual if asked to do a deed transfer when they have no idea about how NY Medicaid works or the resulting Tax ramifications.

The legal ramifications of transferring or adding a family member to a deed can be catastrophic. Don’t do it without first speaking to the NY elder law attorneys of The Law Offices of Michael Camporeale. The elder law lawyer will be better able to guide you. The attorney can also help with Medicaid planning as well as estate planning. Attorneys at The Law Offices Of Michael Camporeale P.C. have been serving clients all over New York for over a decade and we understand all the needs of the elderly people. We understand that they need nursing home care and that they cannot remain dependent on others for long. To speak to an estate planning attorney or an elder law lawyer in NY, call us at (718) 475-9639 to schedule a Free Initial Consultation with our experienced lawyers.

The Potential Ramifications Associated With Home Transfers In New York

The gift tax ramifications, capital gains tax ramifications, estate tax ramifications, and the NY Medicaid eligibility problems associated with such a transfer are issue which need be understood, before such a transfer takes place. All these are issues that the average general lawyer or real estate lawyer will not understand. Therefore, you need to speak with an experienced well versed NY elder law attorney first before making the decision of making such a transfer to see if it makes sense to do so in the first place and if it does make sense to make sure it is done properly. If not done properly, there can be huge capital gains tax exposures to the person the property is transferred to, and it also comes with other potential problems, pitfalls, and limitations in the context of NY Medicaid planning and assets preservation. In that life estates have value if sold during the lifetime of the grantor/ owner of the property which means such value could disqualify a person from NY Medicaid. These are all reasons why these types of transfers might not always be the best option.

In addition, if this is done and that family member who has the property transferred to has, judgments, divorce issues or files for bankruptcy, your assets could be exposed to those legal proceedings and open to liens, attachments, judgments and bankruptcy.

This is why you need the proper legal advice from a NY elder law lawyer to explore the proper legal, Medicaid and estate planning options available to you before you might end up making a potentially big mistake.

Get your questions answered - call me for your free phone consultation (718) 475-9639

A House Placed In A Medicaid Trust Plan May Be Protected From Estate Tax

It may make more sense many times to have the home put into a Medicaid Trust for asset protection purposes and for estate planning purposes and for tax purposes.

In that, the Medicaid trust plan, may be a better way to protect the asset from the NY nursing home and other creditors and it is a better way of taking advantage of tax benefits to reduce or eliminate capital gains tax and a better way to distribute your whole estate at death including other assets placed into the trust so that NY probate may be avoided.

If there are other assets that an individual owns in addition to a home they probably should be placed into a Medicaid trust in order to protect them as well so that the five year look back penalty period can start to run on those assets as well because those assets can also disqualify a person for Medicaid benefits if they are not properly protected.

If this is something you are thinking about and you are in the New York City metro area, Westchester, Bronx, Long Island, Queens, Brooklyn or Staten Island call today to find out what proper NY Medicaid planning technique should be used.

All of these issues are things which need the attention and understanding of the NY elder law attorney who is well versed in Medicaid law and not the general practice or real estate lawyer.

Home Transfers And Retained Life Estates Are Applicable Under Certain Circumstances

A home transfer and retained life estate may be something to consider under certain very fact specific situations which would need to be flushed out and discussed in order to see if it is appropriate. In certain crises situations when a person is on the way into a nursing home they may have available to them certain exemptions under the Medicaid eligibility laws that may make sense for such a transfer, if the facts and situation call for it.

However, a very specific fact oriented analysis would need to be done by the experienced NY elder law attorney versed in NY Medicaid law in order to determine whether it is the correct option and if it is, how to do it the best and correct way to take advantage of exemptions under the Medicaid laws, without having negative effects on the inheritance rights of all your other family members.

The analysis would look to see if there is a child who is disabled or if there is a child who has resided in the home for at least two years before entrance into the nursing home that is the primary caregiver or if the home is owned by a sibling who also has an ownership or equity interest in the property.

These techniques can only be understood and should only be put in place by the experienced NY elder law attorney; because of the consequences and the high stake of eligibility requirements for NY Medicaid so that the asset can be preserved and not spent on the catastrophic cost of long term NY nursing home care and the resulting consequences to the inheritance rights of other family members who could be improperly disinherited if the techniques are not done and implemented correctly.

The New York elder law and Medicaid planning attorneys at The Law Offices of Michael Camporeale have helped many families, from the entire New York City metropolitan area including, Westchester, Long Island, Manhattan, Bronx, Queens, Brooklyn and Staten Island for well over a decade achieve their proper NY Medicaid and estate planning goals by having done the proper planning which resulted in protecting and shielding family assets from NY nursing homes. The Law Offices of Michael Camporeale has gotten them qualified for Medicaid in New York so that the high cost of their NY nursing home care is paid by the government and not by their individual private assets or their home.

Call today for a free consultation before it is too late so that you and your family can become yet another success story of the many that we have helped over the years. Our elder law lawyers, estate planning attorneys, and Medicaid planning lawyers are always ready to assist.

For more information on Home Transfers And Retained Life Estates, a free initial consultation is your next best step. Get the information and legal answers you are seeking by calling (718) 475-9639 today.

Get your questions answered - call me for your free phone consultation (718) 475-9639