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I have been living with my mother for many years.I have 2 brothers, one living. He is not active in her care or well being. I am unable to see her or be involved in her care at this time because of a comment that she made in a state of delirium that is under investigation and awaiting results from tests. We were working on me getting power of attorney for her,but her condition got worse before we could.I need to secure care for her,I do not know what would be best Medicaid or guardianship. I want to take over ownership for her home but don’t know how to do this.

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One option to “take over the house” is for your mother to gift it to you. The Medicare look-back period is 5 years, so if she outlives that, you won’t be up for the commercial value. If she doesn’t live that long, you are probably in no worse a position. You may know how this interacts with “comment that is under investigation”, but we can’t guess. But you will need a lawyer to sort it out.
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Reply to MargaretMcKen
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igloo572 30 min ago
Medicaid’s LTC program (it pays for custodial care in a facility) has the 5 yr lookback on assets “gifted”. It is at need medically and financially for eligibility. Medicaid administered by each State but under overall Federal guidelines.

Medicare is health insurance for 65+ with some exception's. Workers in the US pay into via FICA (as well as their employer) or via SE taxes. Everyone 40+ qtrs (recorded by SSA) eligible for Medicare Part A premium free. Medicare Federally administered, whether Original Medicare or Medicare Advantage Plans.
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You could buy the house from her, but it would need to be at full market value as determined by a certified appraiser. Then whoever is handling her finances would need to set up an account and use the money solely for her use and care. However, if she's not competent to consent to this and no one else has authority to act on her behalf, it would have to wait until that authority is established.

There really is no other way to take over ownership, unless it's by inheritance after her death. However, if she needs to pay for nursing home or other care, the house will need to be sold first and the money used before she qualifies for Medicaid.

As mentioned, if she met the qualifications for needing full time care for the past two years and you can proved that you provided it, thereby keeping her out of a nursing home, you may be able to stay in the house, but it would still acquire a lien that you would have to pay off.

This is tricky stuff and there are more details and exceptions than what I just wrote, so you really need to see an attorney. I assume you have an attorney dealing with the current issues? He or she can probably advise you on these various scenarios or confer/refer to someone else who can.

It's a shame when a long-time situation goes south and gets complicated like this. But it happens, and you need some expertise to sort it out.
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Reply to MG8522
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Please seek legal advice from an elder care or estate attorney. You will get varied information here and you need accurate information for your location and situation
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Reply to Daughterof1930
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If she goes om Medicaid and you can show you were her caregiver for at least 2 yrs, you maybe able to get a Caregiver Allowance which means you can remain in the home. But, you must be able to afford the utilities, taxes and upkeep. When Mom passes, Medicaid will put a lien on the house. You can probably stay there but if you sell the house or pass, the lien will need to be satisfied.

Your best bet is to talk to an Elder Lawyer.
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Reply to JoAnn29
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If she can't assign POA someone will need to pursue guardianship to be able to make decisions and secure care.

Medicaid is a program that pays for necessary care for someone with no money or other assets. The court appointed guardian can apply for Medicaid.

You can not have her house. She isn't in a position to gift it to you and if she has no money to pay for her own care the house will have to either be sold to pay for care, or sold after her death to reimburse Medicaid for all the money they paid for her care.
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Reply to Slartibartfast
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