Q: If a senior lives in a HUD senior apartment and comes into a large sum of money, what happens to their status of living there? Also, what about Medicare and Medicaid benefits? How will they react?

A:  Regarding Medicare, it is not based on assets so it is not affected. Medicaid is based on “countable assets” so it would potentially be affected by someone “coming into” money. You have to look at the Medicaid application that was initially completed. Usually they are somewhat similar to any needs-based model where they look at income and assets. They are subject to periodic review. It is not clear if the tenant would have to leave or merely pay more money to spend down, so to speak the new found money. You have to look at the documents and speak to the facility. My advice would be to seek an opinion from an elder law attorney as early as possible to see if any of this money can be sheltered.