Tax question for you bean counters.

Question

I&#x27;ve asked my accountant assistant who gave me a response that doesn&#x27;t sound correct but what do I know.My mother is on Medicaid and is in a nursing facility in the state of Washington. She has copd end stage and her time is limited to put it mildly. Recently she was notified by her attorney that they have a six figure check for her following a defective hip class action lawsuit.  Under Medicaid, she is not allowed to have more than 2k in her bank account. If she deposits the settlement check, the state would see it and she would lose Medicaid and have to pay for care privately. We don&#x27;t want that.As her DPOA, My thought is to endorese her check over to myself and deposit it into my bank account for her "quiet low radar" use. She can barely sit up, barely walk, hardly breath. I am pissed that things ended up this way but I would sure like to see her have the money. Otherwise it&#x27;ll just go straight down the toity. Question:Would the IRS see the check in my account and go after her? I&#x27;m happy to pay the taxes on the funds but I do NOT the Medicaid folks seeing the check. Cannot risk that.Thanks gentlemen. All guesses welcome.

searchwarrant · Answer

I&#x27;ve asked my accountant assistant who gave me a response that doesn&#x27;t sound correct but what do I know.My mother is on Medicaid and is in a nursing facility in the state of Washington. She has copd end stage and her time is limited to put it mildly. Recently she was notified by her attorney that they have a six figure check for her following a defective hip class action lawsuit.  Under Medicaid, she is not allowed to have more than 2k in her bank account. If she deposits the settlement check, the state would see it and she would lose Medicaid and have to pay for care privately. We don&#x27;t want that.As her DPOA, My thought is to endorese her check over to myself and deposit it into my bank account for her "quiet low radar" use. She can barely sit up, barely walk, hardly breath. I am pissed that things ended up this way but I would sure like to see her have the money. Otherwise it&#x27;ll just go straight down the toity. Question:Would the IRS see the check in my account and go after her? I&#x27;m happy to pay the taxes on the funds but I do NOT the Medicaid folks seeing the check. Cannot risk that.Thanks gentlemen. All guesses welcome.

thorpe · Answer

As I understand it, if she gifts you the money, she is no longer eligible for Medicaid.

searchwarrant · Answer

Correct. but it wouldn&#x27;t be a gift. That would set off every flag with Medicaid folks and she has no trust. I would be on the straight and level with the IRS if they were to ask me. Btw, Class action defective hip part settlements are non taxable.

searchwarrant · Answer

....Currently she is not required to file and Federal taxes as a Medicaid patient. She is not required to pay back any debts either and she has a ton of them. I&#x27;ve been working my rear end off for two years as her son and dpoa to get her where she is. Mom planned nothing.

VanDutch · Answer

deposit check , claim as other income. F- the IRS

searchwarrant · Answer

Good call, I love that. Her attorneys say they can "structure" the check "possibly" away from the state. I&#x27;m depositing it. IRS can suck it.

steve1203 · Answer

post your question in the finance forum at slickdeals below.https://slickdeals.net/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=45these guys know their stuff.good luck.

TheGoldenGoose · Answer

Call me Rickey.

nature1970 · Answer

this is matter of estate planning, This becomes a mess,

medicaid will seize all of this check to offset the long term needs of your Mother in a nursing home, what ever washington has paid they will take.

nature1970 · Answer

How ever this could absolve you and your estate from encountering unseen costs of debt incured by being poa.

searchwarrant · Answer

You may be asked to complete IRS Form W-9 if you or your business are contracted to provide services to another company. Form W-9 is most often sent to independent contractors, consultants, and other self-employed workers.DPOA

nature1970 · Answer

not sure of this, go to a tax and estate attorney, pay them the retainer consultant fee to bind them to attorney client relationship., and discuss this. \
Might be a time to move your mother into the house and pay for home health care services.

searchwarrant · Answer

Good point. I&#x27;m meeting the attorney downtown on Monday. I&#x27;ve been told the money can be sheltered but I don&#x27;t trust them. I don&#x27;t believe I have ACP but mom does. Class action lawyers want their 40%. Without me accepting terms they don&#x27;t get that unless they bend the rules.

Kurshka · Answer

LTC will eat that money fast. Talk to her doctor and see if he can classify her for Hospice.

I agree with Nature.

go to a tax and estate attorney, pay them the retainer consultant fee to bind them to attorney client relationship., and discuss this.

TRAIN69 · Answer

How long is the check good for? Might be worth waiting until she passes (my condolences ahead of time). Open an account with her and your name attached. As long as its signed by her , you can deposit. Withdrawal shortly after cleared......

searchwarrant · Answer

Won&#x27;t be issued until June. Not sure if mom will make it that long. She and I have agreed to keep the money out of harms way. The attorney class action of course is excited about me signing for the settlement of course. She gets paid. I won&#x27;t sign chit until do as you guys say. Retain the tax estate attorney that they have in house. Agree here and thanks guys.  go to a tax and estate attorney, pay them the retainer consultant fee to bind them to attorney client relationship., and discuss this. I assume I can tell him (under ACP), that no way does the state see any of that money. Make it work or nobody gets a penny. My mom agrees.

nature1970 · Answer

once an att client relationship is entered and it can be a dollar retainer usually this is around 1,000 depends on the attorney what discussion is stated in that room stays there or He/She will be disbarred and lose his right to practice law.

nature1970 · Answer

I believe the only loop hole the attorney has is impending homicidal tendency or impending sexual act with a child under 13. outside of those exact circumstances the attorney is bound to privacy clause.

searchwarrant · Answer

Good to know. So I can speak freely and he/she can can speak freely. As in Saul from Braking Bad? My mother&#x27;s attorney cannot respond to, "hide the money."

nature1970 · Answer

part of finding the right attorney, do not look for former procecutor you are asking an angel to be a devil just will not work. ask a devil to be himself easy peasy....

ref loose translation of greater lesser keysof solomon old latin script.

1129ken · Answer

I am not an expert on attorney/client privilege, but I offer this as a friendly observation of what I think you need to consider.

Sure, attorneys who reveal legitimate confidential communications from a client face sanctions. But, and here is the "big but" : you cannot use an attorney to assist you in furtherance of a crime and expect it to be covered by attorney/client privilege. So, if you're looking for advice designed to conceal, oh, let's say , um, medicaid fraud, for example, I think you'll find there is an exception to the confidentiality rule. The communication is not privileged if it is made to facilitate breaking the law.

As I said---just a friendly observation. I don't mean to suggest that you would ever ask an attorney to help you break the law. Indeed, I'm sure all you want to do is to ask an attorney what legal means are available to you to help protect your family resources.

Good luck.

searchwarrant · Answer

Noted. Thank you ken.  ask an attorney what legal means are available to you to help protect your family resources.

1129ken · Answer

Good luck, Search.

nature1970 · Answer

do not use words evasion shelter keep from ect, instead use words like writing a will to protect family assets  Starting a family trust estate what protection to inheritance tax is protected.

Tax question for you bean counters.

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