There still are important asset protections for a husband and wife if only one spouse requires long term care.

The 2006 legislative changes that I wrote about last year do not have any effect on Medicaid’s spousal asset protection rules. A very important protection concerns the family home. If one spouse is in a nursing home (“Institutionalized Spouse”) and the other spouse remains at home (“Community Spouse”) the family home is an excluded asset. That means the ownership of the home by either spouse does not affect the Institutionalized Spouse’s eligibility for Medicaid. With proper planning, it also means the State may not place a lien on the home for Medicaid benefits paid on behalf of the Institutionalized Spouse. In addition to the excluded status of the home, the Community Spouse is allowed to keep a car and ½ of the couple’s other non-excluded assets, but subject to a maximum of $101,640.00. The maximum increases every January 1.

Even if one spouse is in a nursing home, appropriate planning allows the spouse in the community to keep the family home, a car, and up to a maximum of $101,640.00 in other non-excluded assets.