How to pay the house expenses when someone is in a nursing home

Attorney Tom Olsen: Robert, if Mom goes into a nursing home, and let's say she's a single widowed lady, and we know that she's allowed to keep the home, generally, how do the expenses, carrying costs, on that home get paid after Mom's in a nursing home? We're talking about taxes, maintenance, insurance, electric, et cetera. How are those things paid for?

Attorney Robert Hidock: Usually, let's say she had some assets before she applied for Medicaid. One of the Medicaid-compliant tools that I always talk about is a personal services contract, so that widow could pay her son in advance for taking care of her. Then he could use those proceeds to pay for the upkeep of the house. That's one option.

A second option would be, she could rent that house. Then all the expenses get paid, but then the proceeds that are left from the rental income would then go to pay the skilled nursing facility as part of her income that's left of it, or she could sell the house and use the proceeds of the sale of the house to her children in a personal services contract as well.