Life Estates
Transfer your real property to your children and reserve a life estate.
As a form of estate planning, you may decide to transfer your home or other real property to your children and reserve a life estate to yourself.
The retained life estate has a value and is considered to be an asset for Medicaid eligibility purposes. Therefore, the treatment of the life estate at the time of the Medicaid application is critical. There are important rules involving life estates which should be reviewed.
Important Things To Keep In Mind
When you transfer assets to another person, there is a Medicaid transfer penalty period of ineligibility. When you reserve a life estate, the transfer penalty can be shortened.
There are important issues to review when deciding whether to transfer property and whether to reserve a life estate:
- Right to use property for your life
- Medicaid transfer penalty
- Life estate value for Medicaid eligibility rules
- Medicaid treatment of income producing property
- Medicaid estate recovery
- Capital gains tax consequences
- Gift and estate tax consequences
Contact Our Attorneys Today
There are many advantages and disadvantages to transferring property to other people with the reservation of a life estate.
To learn more, contact our law firm and speak to one of our experienced lawyers. For assistance in central New York, call our East Syracuse office at 315-314-3205.
