Will gifting child, son-in-law, granddaughters and grandchildren within the past two years be detrimental to obtaining Medicaid?

What is your father's health like? It he is likely to need Medicaid assistance in the next 5 years, those gifts are going to a be a problem, as igloo spelled it out. To minimize the possible repercussions, I hope you can at least get dad to STOP giving away his assets now. The "look back" period on finances is 5 years. If he can care for himself (perhaps with family help) for the next five years, the earlier gifting issues will not be an issue.

It is really too bad that elders are often not aware of the consequences of their generosity.

Dad will have a transfer penalty due to gifting that will make him ineligible for Medicaid to pay even if he is then completely impoverished and would otherwise qualify for Medicaid. The medicaid application will require financial info for up to past 5 years, so it will show up. For more fun in this, the penalty is by days and based on your states Medicaid daily reinbursement rate for room & board @ the NH with the ineligibility period starting on the date of application (& not the date of the transfer). If you live in a low reinbursement rate - like TX which is about $155 a day - it could take eons longer to get out of the penalty period.

Transfer penalties mean that someone will need to private pay for dads NH stay till penalty period of time are over. Will any be able to return the funds? Can you pay for his care? If family can't pay, then Who in the family can take dad in and do caregiving at home?

The 14k figure is for tax free gifting under IRS rules & has nothing to do with each states Medicaid program.

Yes, it will be detrimental to obtaining Medicaid. That's a lot of money gifted out that could have been use to pay for your father's care.

Yep, it sure will. Medicaid's going to want it paid back, or sans that, will disallow months and months of benefits until their formula takes back that $28,000.