Does Medicaid require a newly purchased or leased car to be in joint ownership if the trade-in vehicle was jointly owned?

Is there a type of trust for a healthy spouse - not disabled or SSI status? I'm looking at your answers and will go on the web to learn more. I want to consider all possibilities at this point in time. I'm under the impression that a low-income trust can only be set up as a QIT for the IS but not the CS healthy spouse.

Forget the new car. Read Igloo's reply about having the Executor hold the distribution until you can consult an attorney about constructing a Trust for yourself.

I'm down to about 45K of individually owned assets. I'm allowed to divert spouse's retirements totaling $3,035.00/mo back to our joint account. From that I'm required to write a check for United Health supplemental premium $400.00 + bundled phone/cable services at $48.00. This leaves $2,587.00/mo spousal support for me.

There will likely be between 40 - 60K received as inheritance. If I received 60K tomorrow, that would put my assets back up to 105,000.00.
If Medicaid has determined $31,044.00 for annual living expenses is plenty for me, I'm sure the inheritance will get crunched into the equation to make sure I can not keep it for my survival. Medicaid probably can deems me to be over resourced and lower or eliminate my CSRA. I think one way or the other the state will take the money from me.
I would be a fool to waddle into the slaughter house like a tired sheep if there is a remote possibility I can use those funds for my survival. It would delay my having to apply for food stamps, utilities reductions, and regular Medicaid for non-institutionalized spouses or widows.
We're considering the car as a constructive way - in the long term - for my survival. Short term, I don't have to have a new car. If my assets are spent down now, when I do need the car, I'll have no money left.
The estate recovery threshold here is $25K. The condo, car, and my remaining resources, at this moment would equal over 25K. My husband's IRA was all spent down so none of that to worry about.

Also cars depreciate really significantly over time. If the CS outlives the medicaid spouse for a good bit of time that car may be worth very little. federal guidelines on estate recovery have it so that IF the recoverable estate is under 10k, then recovery is viewed as not cost effective.

How much $ do you anticipate?
If its likely going to take the CS way way over the asset ceiling (it's around 119k) and also over whatever your state has for CSRA or MMNA (community spouse resource allowance /monthly maintenance needs allowance) you may need to see an elder law atty to deal with this and quickly so that any $ gets reallocated within the month the asset is received. So that the CS starts & ends the month all within medicaid CS limits so the NH spouse never has an ineligibility month.

If the $ is coming from an executor doing a estate distribution, I'd ask them to hold off writing the check till you speak with an atty first as to how to best deal with the $. Executor has a lot of discretion usually as to when to pay, file, etc.

Reporting requirements will definitely be followed as soon as inheritance is received. He knows the car will not last forever. We hope to use any resources for cs to the extent allowed by Medicaid. This would help cs meet future transportation needs. We're thinking an asset only for CS may make it less complicated.

CS has to tell Medicaid about the money that was inherited. It may affect the Community Spouse allowance. Beyond that, the car does not have to be jointly owned, but it does count as an asset for CS.