When and Why to File Division of Assets
“We recommend that our families file their Division of Assets at the earliest possible opportunity, “indicated St. Peters Elder Law Attorney Stephen Jones. The Division of Assets is designed to preserve assets for a healthy spouse that will continue to reside outside of a nursing home. Absent filing the Division of Assets, the entire countable assets base is counted toward the resource limit for Missouri Medicaid with nothing being set aside as the spousal share. This makes the Division of Assets filing critical. The filing ensures as much as possible is set aside for the healthy spouse. This is done in part, by filing your Division of Assets at the earliest opportunity.
What is a Division of Assets Filing
“When a married individual enters a nursing home and expects to be present for thirty (30) days of more, the Division of Assets should usually be filed,” according to St. Peters Elder Law Attorney Rosalind Robertson. You can find the Missouri Department of Social Services discussion on this same subject here https://mydss.mo.gov/prevention-of-spousal-impoverishment. By filing at the earliest possible moment, the spousal share is set at the high-water mark thereby getting the spouse the maximum allotment. For example, an individual enters a nursing home on January 1st when he and his spouse have a combined $215,000 in assets. The expectation is that the individual will be in the nursing home for an extended period of time so a Division of Assets is filed resulting in a protected spousal share of $107,500. If nothing else changed and a Medicaid application was filed, the healthy spouse would be entitled to keep $107,500 in assets.
Risks of Not Filing the Division of Assets in a Timely Manner
Instead let’s assume that the individual spends six weeks in the nursing home and was then able to return home. Over the course of the next ten months the individual is in and out of the hospital several times and has to hire in home health care. In December of that same year he returns to the same nursing home where he will remain permanently. At that time, he and his wife’s combined countable assets are $168,600 after incurring the extensive medical costs during the preceding ten months. If the Division of Assets was filed in January, then the spousal share would remain $107,500 and the assets spent down during the preceding ten months would be treated as coming from the institutionalized spouse. Conversely, if the Division of Assets had not been filed then the spousal share could potentially be reduced to $84,300 costing the healthy spouse $23,200. In other words, if the Division of Assets was not filed part of the medical spend down is treated as coming from the health spouse’s share of the assets.
Using an Elder Lawyer Can Ease Your Burden
“Getting accurate and timely information throughout the long-term care journey is critical for families in order to make sure they are making the best decisions possible,” indicated St. Peters Elder Law Attorney Stephen Jones. The Medicaid process is a dangerous path to try and navigate alone if you have assets that you want to protect for your loved ones. Even the smallest of mistakes, like filing the necessary paperwork at the incorrect time, can cost you thousands of dollars that you may never be able to recover. It is well worth the time and effort to meet with an Elder Lawyer who specializes in such matter to make sure you are on the right path.
If you or your family are struggling with any Missouri Medicaid decisions, make an appointment with the experienced St. Peters Elder Law Attorneys at Jones Elder Law. That way, you can decide what happens to the assets you worked so hard to build. If we can help guide you, contact our St. Charles Peters Law Firm at (636) 812-2575 and ask to schedule a call or virtual consultation, what we call a Vision Meeting http://joneselderlaw.com/vision-meeting/. For your safety and ours we have developed the Minimal Contact Planning process to be used while the Covid-19 virus remains a concern.
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