Transferring Assets and Medicaid Eligibility

Anthony "Tony" Turbeville is a Florida advisor and educator who works with clients of diverse asset and income levels in strategies for qualifying for Medicaid. Antony "Tony" Turbeville has extensive knowledge of asset transfer strategies when it comes to obtaining long-term care Medicaid.

One common strategy centers on transferring funds to children, as a way of falling within qualification thresholds, which can be as low as $1,600 in personal assets. Unfortunately, Medicaid law places a penalty on those who transfer assets to others and do not receive fair value in return.

This penalty is ineligibility for Medicaid coverage over a set period of time, which is correlated to the amount of money transferred. This involves dividing the amount transferred by what is Medicaid-defined as the average nursing home private-pay cost within the state. As a general rule, the state takes a look at all such transfers transacted in the five years before the Medicaid application.

There are types of fund transfers that will not trigger a Medicaid ineligibility period. These include transferring money to a spouse, or another party for the spouse's benefit. Trusts that are for the sole benefit of a disabled or blind child, or disabled individual who is under 65, are also allowed.