Ask the Elder Law expert: Should you give your children gifts of money?

Often, people ask whether to make gifts to children. My advice is to proceed very cautiously. While gifts can protect assets from Medicaid, they can also cause other problems.

Consider what could happen if you make a gift and then your child divorces, dies, becomes disabled, or had problems with debt or drugs? Those are the 5 ‘D’s’ that no one wants to think about. We never want to see the child’s problems bump into mom and dad’s money!

That’s why, often, the better elder care plan will place the residence and assets into a trust. Using the trust means that the parent will have more control over assets, even if their child dies or divorces.

Dennis Toman is founder of The Elderlaw Firm in Greensboro, North Carolina