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My mom is cosigner on mortgage if she goes into a nursing home can NH take her pension and ss check if these checks are used to fulfill her cosigner obligation since the primary owner is unemployed?

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It depends.
For TX medicaid there is a waiver that can be done to have a portion of the NH Medicaid residents income "waived" or diverted to cover pre-existing housing costs. It's "Mandatory Benefit Optional Benefit" Form H1280. & yep it actually has the word "benefit" twice in its name. I'd imagine other states do this too.

My understanding is H1280 can be filed by property owner who is now NH medicaid or Medicaid Pending resident who has a mortgage on primary residence with homestead exemption. You will need to include current Tax assessor bill as to verify & mortgage paperwork including service provider contact info. It seems to be self-limiting -like to 6 mos- and you seem to have to have property with current listing agreement with MLS # & Realtor info. No FSBO nonsense.

The diversion $ can cover mortgage and avg utIlities. I think it can cover a heloc, the FAQ I have on H1280 is back from 2010 & implies it can be requested for "secured" lending. I imagine its a way to keep property from being just foreclosed on or having lien placed and therefore without any $/proceeds to fund selfpay or spend-down or clouds on property sale. Does NOT cover taxes, or yard maintenance. So if you do it then the plan basically needs to be to get house sold ASAP by a Realtor.

Patricia - if mom is cosigned on debt that is not hers - like the mortgage is on your house or a jointly owned credit card - that situation isn't covered. Mom must pay all her monthly income less the small personal needs allowance (from $40-$115 varies by state) to the NH as her SOC (share of cost) required by Medicaid. All she will have is the PNA. For TX it was $60 a mo. & really just maybe covers beauty shoppe and some toiletries replacement. If mom needs more clothing, eyeglasses, continued payment on life insurance, credit cards, or whatever other debt she has either family pays or mom defaults.

Also ? For you, does mom have an legal equity or ownership stake in the house? If so, Medicaid can seek her share of any proceeds from the house when it sells under MERP compliance. If this is you, get with an estate atty who does elder law ASAP to see if there is anything that can be done to change that. If so and your stuck with her co-ownership, it's gonna be a real clusterF when the house eventually gets sold as MERP can lien on it. You might be best just dealing letting it continue till mom dies and deal with it as probate asset of moms estate that you are hopefully executor on. MERP still involved but everything has to go through probate court system. It's complex and something for an atty in your state to deal with & discuss with you.
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Yes if she is admitted under Medicaid all her income except a small allowance goes to the nursing home as her share of cost. There is no money left to pay mortgage, utilities etc.
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Have to agree with Guestshipadmin. I don't think the government cares whether a mortgage gets paid, especially for a home the Medicaid beneficiary is not living in. They would assume housing costs (other than the NH) are reduced to zero when the NH admission takes effect.
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igloo - thanks for this info. I didn't know any of this, but it makes sense. Medicaid would rather have the house sold for fair market value than to have it default to the mortgage holder. The requirement of a realtor suggests that Medicaid would take at least some of the proceeds of the sale - otherwise, they wouldn't care what it was sold for, or if it was just given away outright.

This discussion may become relevant to me as I co-own my mother's house, although she alone is on the mortgage. If she were to go into a nursing home, I would not need her monthly income to keep the house, but I'm not sure whether Medicaid would let me keep it. I hope so, but I'm not living there so it's not the end of the world if they take it.
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If ur not on the Mortgage how are u co-owner? If by will, wills are null and void when on Medicaid. And co-signer only comes into effect if the primary debt holder defaults on the loan. If Mom is on Medicaid she has no money so can't pay the debt. That means the house goes into foreclosure.
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JoAnn - I'm not sure if you're replying to my post or the original. It sounds like in Patricia's case, both people own the house and both are liable on the mortgage. In my case, we both own the house (as joint tenants with right of survivorship) but only Mom is on the mortgage. Apparently it can be done that way.

I think Patricia is saying that she is the primary owner, and primary debtor, but her mother co-signed for the loan and has been paying the mortgage because the primary owner is unemployed. So if her mother goes on Medicaid, there will be no funds to pay the mortgage for the house Patricia is still living in (as I understand it).

In my own case, I believe I would have the choice to either let the loan go into default and lose the house, or take over the loan and keep the house. Although I'm not on the mortgage, I believe the bank would rather let me take it over than let the house go into default. But whether Medicaid would allow that is another matter. Since my mother is co-owner (joint tenant), Medicaid might require the house to be sold. I just don't know about that.
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This is something that both of you should check out with a lawyer who knows Medicaid. My brother is suppose to get Moms house in her will. Medicaid told me wills are null and void once ur on Medicaid. Between not paying taxes and a Medicaid lean, the house will be gone. Are u on the deed?
For the OP, u need to protect yourself and findout how u can protect the house. If on Medicaid, Mom will have no money. In spend down, she is not allowed to spend money on taxes, etc. Only her personal needs. Once on Medicaid, she will have no money. They will take her SS and pension. She will be allowed a small amount in her bank account.
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If your question is directed to me, Joann29, then yes, I am on the deed. The deed names my mother and myself as joint owners with rights of survivorship. The point was partly to keep the house out of her will, not to evade Medicaid but to avoid claims by other siblings. I paid the down payment and closing costs for the house, so I wanted to make sure I'd get my money back before proceeds of the house were shared among any other beneficiaries.
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