My mother has a good deal of money in CDs and IRAs. Should she have to be placed in a nursing facility is it true that the money from these ...

Question

My mother has a good deal of money in CDs and IRAs. Should she have to be placed in a nursing facility is it true that the money from these accounts would be used first for her care before Medicare payments begin? My brother and I are on all her accounts, although she is listed first. If this is true, what can we do to protect her money?

Answer

Yes, she must spend almost all that money first. The way around it is to plan when young, as Medicaid looks back a number of years at transactions. Sit down with an elder care lawyer.