Medicaid Minute: Can I Pay My Daughter?

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August 18, 2020

My name is attorney Jessica Merkel and this is Ruder Ware’s Medicaid Minute. This week, we’re here to talk about paying relatives for their services in relation to Wisconsin’s Medicaid rules. For instance, some of my clients will ask me if they can pay their daughter for providing care to them. Others will ask about paying their son for changing out their windows or replacing their roof. The simple answer is yes. You sure can, but there’s a caveat to that answer. If at some point you need to apply for Medicaid benefits in Wisconsin – that includes assisted living, nursing home care, home services – family member payments are highly scrutinized. Because of this we want to be sure that medical assistance does not view those payments as a gift. Why? Because a gift means they will institute a penalty period which means that they will not pay for your care for a certain period of time depending on how much you pay your relatives. So the good news is, yes, you can pay relatives. But we need to be proactive in our approach and planful, we also need to take into consideration issues of taxation and employment depending upon how much they’re going to be paid. If you have any questions or concerns related to Wisconsin Medicaid or any other elder law questions, please feel free to call us, we’re here to help.

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