My mother was approved for Medicaid about six weeks ago. She is in an SNF. My dad (community spouse) is now selling a property (not the homestead), which is in his name ONLY. At Medicaid application time, it was tax-valued at an amount that kept him within the $154,000 community spouse asset limit for FL. A buyer recently offered him well above the tax value, and my dad is going through with the sale. The proceeds from this sale will cause my dad to exceed the $154,000 asset limit. An elder care attorney told me that as long as we report the sale to Medicaid and include a letter from the broker stating that it was sold for fair market value, my mom will not lose her Medicaid. The attorney said that he has never had a case where Medicaid stopped coverage due to a situation like this. It does not make sense to me because everything I've read implies that the community spouse has to stay within the limit in order for the Medicaid-covered spouse to keep coverage. The elder care attorney told me that Medicaid is stricter about the application process than they are about changes that happen afterward. Does anybody have any experience with this type of scenario?
There is, I suppose, some slim chance that one of us here has had the same experience in Florida, but it's unlikely. Try now to call directly to the counselors at the Medicaid site for your state, and perhaps to see a Trust attorney rather than elder law. I think that you could see a TAX attorney or CPA as well, but I am at a loss because this home is in your name only. Much will depend upon your state's laws about how assets are held by a married couple. Also on how you did division of assets during marriage and whether you filed joint or married filing separate with your home kept separate from any of your wife's holdings--her not contributing to it financially with mortgage payments and etc. It can get so legally complicated.
How scary that you cannot get an answer from your state OR two attorneys!
fwiw doing a bond whose value is the sale price of a property that is an asset of an Estate is done sometime for Executors. Like if there is anticipated carping by heirs (or better yet their spouses) that the price sold of an asset wasn’t enough type of bs, the Executor gets a probate bond done to deal with this should it become an issue.
Do you have a copy of the LTC application done for your mom? There should be within it a specific time frame that any changes have to be reported to the State. That specific paragraph is what you want clarification from the attorney on.
fwiw For TX & LA applications, you as the POa sign off on the application that you will do this according to the policy of the State and can be fined or have the NH elders eligibility suspended if not followed. And for their annual renewal, it will want the latest tax collector bill of the home and it’s used to reverify that the property is the same, ditto for a car, the funeral policy etc. POA or spouse signs off acknowledging that all is true and accurate subject to fine or other action if not.
Find the paperwork/ forms and point blank ask this atty WTF. Do a trust and verify on this is my suggestion.