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Though it's not the IS's resource, it would make total assets held by the CS over the approx. 110K. A difference of 70K. If 70K is required to be spent down, for what?

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If a Community Spouse's assets increase AFTER Medicaid approval it will have no bearing on the Institutional Spouse's eligibility presently or at re-certification.

The above is not offered as legal advice. Consider consulting an attorney licensed in your.
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i don't think you have told us enough about what the timing has been and the source of the increase.
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Source is final settlement of parent's estate - so it doesn't qualify as "income" for me until received. Taxes on Mom's estate are filed in the name of the estate and taxed as income to the estate. At some point this will be income for me and taxed on my taxes. My parents were fortunate to live mostly healthy up to the end. So no long term illnesses to pay for. Dad lived to 92 and Mom to 85. We worried they would run out of money and have to be desperate like many elders.
I have no idea how the 70K may have to be spent down. Timing wise, spouse finally got approved while at the same time I've been trying to settle Mom's estate, long distance across many state lines. The 70K was not mine while doing the initial SNF process for spouse so it did not need to be declared/considered in spouse's application. It is still part of her estate in that it is still in her name/accounts and has not been distributed. We still file taxes on her estate. It probably won't be settled until a little after the Medicaid anniversary of my spouse.
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There may not be any issue with this. The joint assets are restricted for the community spouse but if this is an individual asset like and inheritance or sale of the couples primary home it is handled differently.
Consult with a Medicaid or Estate planning attorney. You could invest the money in an annuity that will give monthly income, do that within 30 days of receiving the money and it will not be counted as an asset but income.
Good Luck.
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I will look into that angle and try to learn about annuities as I've no experience with this type of financial arrangement. I'm thinking assets can be taken to be sure I never have over the 110K. An annuity can not be taken by Medicaid because it would not all be available at once. If monies are received over time, it's income that can be considered but not necessarily used as a means to fleece spouses?
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Before any money changes hands consult an attorney. Dont touch a dime until you do. One false move could cost you.
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Is any of this money from stocks or mutuals? If so, how did you value them? If you haven't re-evaluated based on a stepped-up basis, you need to do that to calculate YOUR basis of these assets. They're stepped up to the current market value on the date of death; that's your new basis value.
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It's from mutual. I was given a date-of-death value but don't know if it's a valid working number. I was able to get the property appraised, tenants evicted, and the estate bank account established, and bills paid. I recall reading about a stepped- up basis for the house. I don't recall anything with the mutual - other than a tax form for the account.
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HP, if the house in which the tenants were living is rental property, you might have to consult a tax specialist or estate planning attorney. I don't know if rental property value would be stepped up as would a deceased's personal residence (even if she had been in hospice or a nursing facility).

As to the mutual, you can verify if the value provided to you is accurate by doing an online research for the particular fund to see what the shares were on that DOD, then just calculate by multiplying that value by the number of shares.

The mutual fund manager wouldn't be responsible for providing a stepped-up valuation for you; that's something that's done by the personal representative of the estate, or by an attorney handling the estate.
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Houseplant, again individual assets are considered differently than jointly held assets, you must see a Medicaid planning attorney to know what impact it will have in your state,.
You should be able to take an individual asset and invest in an income producing annuity that would not be available to cash in but would provide you will income.
Good Luck
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