Q: I am purchasing land from my mom so that she can have some cash to spend for living expenses. My mom is 78 and in fairly good health but if she needs to go into a nursing home within the five year “look back?” After the transaction can the nursing home take back that property if it was not a gift?

A: GENERALLY, if the transfer is for fair consideration, it should not exclude her from Medicaid eligibility. This means fair market value as documented or appraised. If you do this, you need to document everything henceforth, so if called upon down the road in the Medicaid application process, you have your proof.