It should pass muster since your mother will still be on the deed and you will have a shared obligation on the mortgage. The biggest issue may be demonstrating to your state’s Medicaid agency that your brother paid your mother fair market value for the house. He can certainly pay something less to reflect the fact that your mother won’t be paying a real estate broker’s fee, but you should keep records to show the value, either a formal appraisal or a screenshot of the current Zillow valuation.
In any case, if your mother is able to live with you for five years without applying for Medicaid benefits – a long time for someone who is 91 years old – she will be past the Medicaid lookback period and none of this will be an issue.
Harry S. Margolis practices elder law, estate, and special needs planning in Boston and Wellesley, Massachusetts. He is the founder of ElderLawAnswers.com and answers consumer questions about estate planning issues here and at AskHarry.info.
