A New York appeals court rules that a Medicaid applicant successfully rebutted the presumption that transfers to her daughter made one and two years before entering a nursing home were for purposes other than to qualify for Medicaid based on evidence that the money was used to help her grandson purchase a house. Matter of Collins v. Zucker (N.Y. App. Ct., 3rd Dept., No. 522007, Nov. 23, 2016).
In 2009 and 2010, Lorraine Knapp made three transfers totaling $26,000 to her daughter to help her grandson purchase a home and make repairs to it. She still had $200,000 in assets after the transfers. In 2011, she fell and entered a nursing home. After her assets were depleted in 2012, she applied for Medicaid benefits. The state imposed a penalty period based on the transfers to her daughter.
Ms. Knapp appealed the penalty period, arguing that the transfers were made for a purpose other than to qualify for Medicaid. The state upheld the penalty period, ruling that the nursing home placement was foreseeable at the time of the transfers. Ms. Knapp appealed to court.
The New York Appellate Court annuls the state's decision, holding that Ms. Knapp rebutted the presumption that the transfer was made for a purpose other than to qualify for Medicaid. According to the court, "the fact that a future need for nursing home care may be foreseeable for a person of advanced age with chronic medical conditions is not dispositive of the question whether a transfer by such a person was made for the purpose of qualifying for such assistance where, as here, that inference is based solely upon speculation and the other evidence indicates otherwise."
For the full text of this decision, go to: https://decisions.courts.state.ny.us/ad3/Decisions/2016/522007.pdf
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