A STATE OF ANGER

THIS IS A GREAT COUNTRY, A PLACE WHERE FREEDOM IS THE MOST IMPORTANT THING TO ALL OF US, BUT SOMETIMES, BECAUSE WE ARE NOT TO BE TRUSTED, THE GOVERNMENT TAKES MEASURES TO PROTECT OUR TAX MONEY FROM THE CHEATERS.

Case in point.

My mother is about to go on Medicaid, and before she does she needs to divest herself of all her assets. This is because the State of NY is going to pay for her the rest of her life.  Years ago, Mom put her home into a life estate, so that when she passes she could leave her children with something. The problem is that now that she is about to go on Medicaid, we can’t pay her bills anymore, we can’t pay her taxes, we can’t pay for the upkeep of the house. WE can’t even rent the home out, the proceeds all would go to Medicaid! There are many technical reasons for this, too numerous to go into but it is the case.

What all this means is we would have to either pay out of our own pockets, or watch the house fall into disrepair. If we sell it, Medicaid will take all the profits from the sale. Of course I will be fighting this, I am seeing a lawyer who specializes in this and hope for the best. Somehow, I can’t bare to think that the one place I hold sacred along with my own home is going to fall to neglect, the place where for years there was laughter, tears and always joy. I remember how proud Dad was when he bought the house, how every day he went to see the progress as it was being built.

Getting old is sad. Getting old is sadder when you still have a parent alive, and their troubles are yours because they are too old to fight or care anymore. It gets tougher when it feels like you have everyone telling you what you should do, questioning what you are doing and not understanding the issues in total.

Someday, this will all go away. When that someday comes, I will lie down and have myself a big old heart attack and finally be at peace once again. But when that happens, I will know I fought the good fight.