He is still alive, and POA had his house transferred to me and my brother after he used up the Medicaid, and just as he was starting with MediCal. He has no other assets. House is for sale, and we are borrowing from our cousin to pay for caregivers. We'll use proceeds from the house to pay caregivers until he passes.
The basic idea here is that each individual should pay for his long-term care to the extent that he is able. Taxpayer money can pick up the slack when a person has exhausted all of their own resources. It is not considered "fair" to give your money and assets away while you are accepting or in preparation for accepting taxpayer money. Therefore there are penalties involved if it appears you are giving things away within five years of applying for Medicaid.
Most people would really like to accumulate something for their children or grandchildren to inherit. As people are living much longer now and very often having expensive end-of-life conditions, it is becoming increasing difficult for working folks to manage that. As the rules are set up, Medicaid is not intended to subsidize inheritances. If you have money or assets you are expected to use them for your own care, and not reserve them for heirs.
(By the way, I'm not saying I agree with how we manage care for elders in this country, but I'm just trying to explain how things work, as I understand it.)
Please, see an attorney very qualified to help you in this matter.
We are very fortunate to be in the position where he does have some funds to work with, even though they're not liquid yet. I know so many do not have any options to even have extra care. I live 1000 miles away, otherwise I'd be able to take care of him a lot myself, and defray some of the costs.
In the end, any amount we get from him will be helpful and appreciated. That's what he always wanted after all. Lots to think about- thanks again for everyone's help.
I wish I had read this earlier. Great, current info on State of CA recovery.
In our case, looks like we will not have state recovery, but tax consequences as pstiegman suggested. Hope I'm reading this right. How does the saying go? The only certainties in life are death and taxes...