*** The Health Care Programs Manual (HCPM) has been replaced by the Minnesota Health Care Programs Eligibility Policy Manual (EPM) as of June 1, 2016. Please refer to the EPM for current health care program policy information. ***
Effective: January 1, 2012 |
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19.15 - Availability of Assets |
Archived: June 1, 2016 (Previous Versions) |
Count assets toward a client’s asset limit that are available and are not specifically excluded. This section explains how to determine if an asset is available.
Availability - General Provisions.
Availability of Jointly Owned Assets.
Long-Term Care (LTC) Considerations.
Availability of Trusts, Annuities and Life Estates.
Availability - General Provisions
Assets are available if the owner has both the legal authority and actual ability to use them or to convert them to cash. Do not count assets that are legally unavailable.
Presume that the value of the portion of an asset the client owns, in whole or in part, is available, unless the client proves it is not. A client may prove all or part of an asset is unavailable by verifying a legal or actual barrier to obtaining or disposing of the asset that cannot be reasonably overcome. Do not require the client to undertake litigation in order to accomplish the sale of, or gain access to an asset if there is a documented legal barrier to the sale or use of property.
Review availability:
l at each renewal.
l when you anticipate a change in availability.
Do not request new verification of excluded or unavailable assets that have already been verified unless there is a change anticipated in the asset.
Submit a HealthQuest or refer the case to the county attorney for a legal opinion on availability if it is unclear whether an asset is available or there is a legal barrier to availability.
Example:
Jerry applies for health care. He is involved in a lawsuit, and a preliminary court ruling prevents him from selling or disposing of his assets pending further order of the court. Jerry provides a copy of the judge’s order.
Action:
Consider Jerry’s assets unavailable. Consult the county attorney if the order is unclear. Review the availability of his assets at renewal, or sooner if the court makes a change in the ruling.
Availability of Jointly Owned Assets
See Jointly Owned Assets to determine what portion of a jointly owned asset is presumed to belong to each owner.
A joint asset is unavailable when all of the following criteria are met:
l The permission of a joint owner is required to sell or dispose of the asset.
l The joint owner is not a member of the household or a financially responsible relative whose assets are deemed to the client.
l The joint owner refuses to allow the sale or disposal of the asset.
Exception: Do not apply these rules for jointly owned bank accounts. See Jointly Owned Bank Accounts.
Example:
Marlene applies for health care for herself and her children. She is divorced from her husband. Marlene and her ex-husband jointly own several acres of undeveloped land which is separate from Marlene’s homestead. Marlene’s ex-husband will not agree to list the land for sale.
Action:
Consider the land as unavailable to Marlene and do not count the equity value toward her asset total. If her ex-husband agrees to sell the land or a court awards the land to Marlene, it would then be an available asset and counted toward her asset total.
Example:
William and Myrna are a married couple living in the community. They jointly own an apartment building with an equity value of $35,000. Only William is applying for health care. Myrna refuses permission to list the property for sale.
Action:
Myrna’s refusal to sell the apartment building does not make the property unavailable. Her assets are deemed to William because she is his spouse and part of his household. Count the full $35,000 equity value of the apartment building toward William’s asset total.
A jointly owned bank account may still be available even when another joint owner refuses access if it was titled jointly with the intent of allowing both parties full access. Review the following factors to determine if it is available:
l How the account is titled, and laws governing the type of account.
l What agreements, if any, were signed when the account was opened or the second owner’s name was added to the account.
l Who contributed to the account.
l Who has had access to the account.
l Who has received income and/or 1099 tax forms from the account.
l Who gets the proceeds if the account is closed.
l Whether the account has named death beneficiaries.
Example:
Steve opened a brokerage account in his name 10 years ago. Two years ago, he had some health problems and put his son Tom’s name on the account so Tom could help manage the funds. Steve has continued to receive income from the account and has made deposits. Tom has not withdrawn or placed funds in the account. Steve applies for health care. The account balance exceeds the asset limit for his pending program. Tom, as the joint owner, signs a statement that he will no longer allow Steve access to the account.
Action:
Treat the account as owned by Steve because he has contributed all of the funds. Tom does not have the authority to prohibit Steve’s access to the account.
Long-Term Care (LTC) Considerations
A community spouse's share of assets is not available to the LTC spouse even if the LTC spouse holds the assets. However, the assets must be transferred to the community spouse by the LTC spouse’s first renewal date in order for the assets to remain unavailable to the LTC spouse.
Consider any of the community spouse’s assets that the LTC spouse continues to own at the time of the first renewal as available to the LTC spouse. See Determining Asset Eligibility for the Long-Term Care Spouse.
Note: For more information on the treatment of assets when one spouse is applying for LTC services for a long-term care facility (LTCF) or through the Elderly Waiver (EW) see Asset Assessment.
Waive the value of assets controlled by the community spouse of an LTC resident if he or she refuses to make assets available to meet cost of care. See Determining Asset Eligibility for the Long-Term Care Spouse.
Availability of Trusts, Annuities and Life Estates
See Trusts for more information on the availability of a trust.
See Annuities for more information on the availability of an annuity.
See Life Estates for more information on the availability of a life estate.
l Consider non-liquid personal property available even if it is for sale.
Example:
Paul applies for health care. He is over the applicable asset limit. Paul must reduce his assets to be eligible for a health care program. A boat he owns is counted in his asset total. He has decided to put his boat up for sale.
Action:
The equity value of the boat is available because the boat is non-liquid personal property. Continue to count the equity value of the boat in Paul’s asset total even though he is trying to sell it.
l The terms of a premarital agreement do not apply when determining the assets available for a married couple.
l Consider as unavailable, non-homestead real property that the client is making a good faith effort to sell. For more information on ”good faith effort” see Non-Homestead Real Property.
l Consider as unavailable a contract for deed or a property agreement if there is a legal or actual barrier to selling it.
Note: MA Method B only: Consider a contract for deed or a property agreement unavailable if the client is making a reasonable effort to sell it. For more information on ”reasonable effort” see Promissory Notes, Contracts for Deed and Other Property Agreements.
l See Continuing Care Retirement Community (CCRC) entrance fees for information about the availability of these fees.