Legal Question in Elder Law in Wisconsin

I live with a man who has Alzheimer's. We have been together for 30 years. He has an annuity for $100,000 and we need to cash it in before he goes into a nursing home, we own a house together and I want to know if he can use the money from the annuity to buy a 2nd house which would become our permanent residence. Would that house be exempt from the nursing home attaching his half.? Then if we sell the 1st house they could have his share. I ask a question several days ago and never got an answer.


Asked on 9/08/15, 6:49 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys

JAY Nixon nixon law offices

He could be denied eligibility for government assistance and face a "penalty period" for any gifts which he gives to you, including cash from this annuity. On the other hand, you being part owner of the house means that you do as you wish with your share of the house. Likewise, he or his POA (or guardian or other legal representative), is free to sell his share of real estate, provided that he can fully account for what happened to the proceeds. That is an unrelated issue to what he does with the annuity cash. If he goes on any kind of government assistance, however, they will likely file a estate recovery lien against the home or any other land upon which his name appears, which means that you will need to pay them the amount of the lien if you ever resell the house. Medicaid divestment or "spend downs" to make a person eligible for Medicare, are complex issues which require the assistance of an experienced estate planning attorney, since there are numerous traps for the unwary in either process.

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Answered on 9/10/15, 4:54 am


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