Legal Question in Elder Law in Indiana

Re: Nursing Home information

I believe from your question that your are concerned about Mother's rights to live in the real estate if Grandmother is placed in a nursing home. I am not sure if it is Grandmother who is getting too feeble to live at home or Mother. Therefore, my answer will assume it is Grandmother whose health is suffering.

During a person's life time what he or she writes in a will has no meaning until the person dies. That is, if Grandmother has a will saying sell my house and divide the proceeds, then she can do whatever she wants with the house prior to death, including selling it herself so that there is no house to deal with in the estate.

Generally, if you place Grandmother in a nursing home you are most likely going to apply for medicaid to assist with the payment due the home. Once that occurs, you fall within the rules of the State for what assets an institutionalized person can continue to own.

Because Grandmother has expressed a rather strong desire to die at home, I would recommend you contact a local home health care agency, a local hospice, or the State agency that determines whether a person ought to be placed in a nursing home (your local nursing home will know who that is).

You may elect to merely obtain extra care for Grandmother to ease the burden of keeping her in her own home.

Generally a person applying for medicaid can exempt the home from the necessity of sale by (1) living there; (2) having the house offered for sale or rent while in the institution; or (3) using the home for a disabled adult companion.

If Grandmother must be placed in an institution, then if Mother were to remain in the home, she would be required to pay some rent (like pay the utilities, upkeep and taxes) to prevent the necessity of selling the house.

Dependent upon Grandmother's clarity of mind (if there are not powers of attorney provided by her from an earlier time when she was competent) it may be too late to obtain a power of attorney for the purpose of transferring the house to Mother and to do so would require a guardianship and approval by the local probate court. However, the house would still be figured in as a asset for medicaid purposes for 3 years from the date of the transfer (unless Mother pays for it).

All in all, it is difficult to care for an elderly person in the home without resorting to outside assistance from home health care. And I'm sure that had led to you to consider institutionalization. Be sure to consult with Grandmother's family doctor before taking that step. It may be she would live several years under institutional care but would be less happy than remaining at home with services provided there.