They can't actually recover the money from the kids. What they can do is declare you, personally, ineligible for Medicaid for a period of time based on the valu

They can't actually recover the money from the kids. What they can do is declare you, personally, ineligible for Medicaid for a period of time based on the value of assets (not just cash) that you've given away. It's a little complicated. This appears to be a decent overview: https://finance.yahoo.com/news/avoid-medicaid-5-lookback-penalties-013615306.html https://finance.yahoo.com/news/avoid-medicaid-5-lookback-pen... Addendum: they can also recover from your estate, up to the full amount that Medicaid has spent for your long-term care, and that's not time-limited. Disclaimer: if you're in this situation, it is strongly recommended that you talk with a reputable attorney specializing in elder law before doing anything.