Advanced Marketing Forum Question

Countable Assets for Medicaid

Question:
I have a client 80 years old and an Ohio resident. Her husband has had a stroke. Now she is worried about having enough to pay long term care. She claims that all of her CD's are co-registered in her name and in her daughter and son's name. She is worried about having to spend everything down to qualify for Medicaid. I question whether her CD's are countable assets for Medicaid because of the multiple registration. Also, what happens even if she did re-register them in one of the children’s name?

Reply #1:
I do not know Ohio specific laws, but an elderlaw attorney would be your starting place. Spending down "everything" is not really necessary for a spouse. She will be able to keep some assets as a spouse (home, car, and usually about $80,000 in other assets). As to "re-registering" CDs, that gift would be in the lookback period and might disqualify Medicaid payments for a period of time. You really need to consult with an Ohio elder care lawyer to determine the best Mediciad planning for your state.

Ted Schwartz
Capstone Investment Advisory

Reply #2:
There is a great elder law resource on the web called Elder Law Answers. If you select the state of Ohio, it says that the spouse is allowed to keep $89,280.00 in addition to some of the assets Ted mentioned. The site also allows you to ask questions of an Ohio licensed elder law attorney in a discussion forum format.

http://www.elderlawanswers.com

Tere D'Amato, CLU, ChFC
Commonwealth Financial Network

Reply #3:
For Title XIX purposes all assets, no matter how they are registered, are considered commonly owned. Even if she had an IRA, it would be considered jointly held assets for determining Medicaid eligibility.

She will allowed to keep (please note each state has some variation) her home, as long as she lives in it, a car and personal property. She can keep approximately $85,000 in other assets. So if she has $250,000 in assets, she can keep the $85,000 and the state gets the rest or is "spent down". There are a lot of different other issues, like fair hearings, etc. So....

I STRONGLY SUGGEST THAT YOUR CLIENT GET TO A QUALIFIED ELDER-CARE ATTORNEY IN HER AREA! You can check with the State Bar Association and get someone who is a member is a member of the Bar's Eldercare Section. Do not use an attorney who is not part of this section for this type of planning.

Gary Ruchin

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