Medical Assistance for People Who Are Age 65 or Older or People Who Are Blind or Have a Disability

2.3.3.2.7.14 Household Goods and Personal Effects, and Other Personal Property (Archive)

This section discusses how personal property is evaluated. Household goods and personal effects are types of personal property.

Household Goods

Household goods are items of personal property found in or near a home that a person uses on a regular basis or  items needed by the household for maintenance, use, and occupancy of the premises as a home. Examples include furniture, clothing, jewelry, appliances, children’s toys, tools and other equipment used in the home.

Household goods are an excluded asset and do not need to be verified. The exclusion for household goods does not include personal property that a person acquires or holds because of its monetary value or as an investment.  

Personal Effects

Personal effects are items of personal property ordinarily worn or carried by the person, and articles otherwise having an intimate relation to the person. Personal effects include, but are not limited to, personal jewelry including wedding and engagement rings, personal care items, pets, and educational or recreational items such as books or musical instruments.

Personal effects include:

• Items of cultural or religious significance to a person, such as ceremonial attire

• Items required because of a person's physical or mental impairment, such as prosthetic devices or wheelchairs

Personal effects do not include personal property that a person acquires or holds because of its monetary value or as an investment.

Personal effects are an excluded asset and do not need to be verified.

Other Types of Personal Property

Evaluating Manufactured Homes as Personal Property

A manufactured home (including a mobile home) that is not the person's principal place of residence is evaluated as personal property if any of the following criteria are met:

• The owner of the manufactued home is a lessee of the land under the terms of a lease, or the manufactured home is located in a manufactured home park; or

• The manufactured home is not affixed to the land by a permanent foundation, is not affixed to the land like the other real property in the community, or is not installed according to the building codes and standards; or

• The manufactured home is not connected to public utilities, does not have a well and septic tank system, or is not serviced by water and sewer facilities comparable to other manufactured homes in the community.

The estimated market value of a non-homestead manufactured home that is personal property is counted as an available asset. If the manufactured home is personal property, the reasonable effort to sell exclusion does not apply.

If the owner of a non-homestead manufactured home holds title to the land on which it is situated, and none of the above criteria apply, then the manufactured home is considered real property. See Non-Homestead Real Property.

Evaluating Items Acquired or Held Because of Their Monetary Value or as Investments

Personal property that a person acquires or holds because of its monetary value or as an investment is a countable asset and not considered to be household goods or personal effects. Other personal property items include, but are not limited to, gems, jewelry and collectibles acquired or held because of its monetary value or as an investment.

The equity value of any item acquired or held because of its monetary value is counted.

A recent sales slip, an appraisal of the item, or insurance coverage can be used to verify the current market value of an item acquired or held because of its value or as an investment. If this information is not available, an estimate from a knowledgeable source, such as a local merchant, can be used to verify the current market value.

• Insurance appraisals and amounts of insurance coverage often reflect replacement value (the amount it would cost to purchase a similar item new) rather than current market value. Replacement value may not be used in lieu of current market value.

Legal Citations

Minnesota Statutes, section 256B.056, subdivision 1a

Minnesota Statues, Section 273.125, subdivision 8

Published:  September 1, 2018

Archived: June 1, 2020