My Mom is 87 years old and has some money and lives with my sister. Is she allowed to give a cash gift to her children without future punishment ? Another words, if she eventually goes into a nursing home, will they take that money that was given as a gift ? My sister & I are going to put some of her money in our name so she is able to get an aid under Medicaid. Is that O.K.

Each state has a spend-down rule and a period she's allowed to spend her extra money. In IL it's a base of $2000 she can have left before Medicaid will kick in, plus she can't give away any money within the past 30 months. If you search "Medicaid spend down [your state]" (without quote marks), you should be able to find the info you need.

If she hands her money over to you and then six months later needs Medicaid, you will probably have to give back the money. Medicaid watches out for cheating and people who make their money "disappear." They will check back into her bank records, etc. to verify whether she has had assets for a certain period.

Contact a lawyer who deals with elder law.