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| Ask a Lawyer - Archive |
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Q.
My mother (age 93) recently went into a rehabilitation facility. I have power of attorney and have managed her finances. Her assets total is approximately 175K. Historically, she has remembered my sister & I, plus her 6 grandchildren at Christmas and birthdays. The Christmas has varied from $100 to $500 and the birthday has varied from $100 to $300.
Can my sister and I gift to ourselves the maximum of $12K without "raising a flag"? May this tradition continue or are the assets frozen? She resides in New York. Thank you.
-- Ann
A.
As agent under a power of attorney, you are not authorized to make gifts of your mother's assets unless such gifts are in the best interests of your mother and the power of attorney form specifically provides you with the power to make such gifts. Moreover, any gifts that you make may later lead to a period of ineligibility for Medicaid. For all of the above reasons, you should consider setting up a consultation with a competent elder law attorney in the jurisdiction in which your mother resides.
-- Sharon Kovacs Gruer
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