To qualify for Medicaid in Michigan to receive funds to help pay for nursing home care, a single individual or widow can only have $2,000 worth of countable assets.

Does a land contract count towards that asset limit or is it considered an income stream for Medicaid in Michigan?

The answer is….it depends.  Just like many legal questions there are a number of factors in whether the land contract is an income stream or an asset.

A seller’s interest in a land contract is typically viewed as an asset according to the BEM (the manual case workers use to administer Medicaid in Michigan).  The value of the asset is what the land contract could be sold for in the owner’s local area on short notice.  The land contract is the present value unless 2 banks or real estate appraisers say it is non-assignable or that it has zero value.  If that’s the case the the land contract would be valued as an income stream.

What To Do with a Land Contract and Medicaid?

So what to do?  It depends on what your family’s goals.  I’d recommend engaging a Certified Elder Law Attorney to advise on legal strategies to plan for Medicaid.  For example, a half-loaf plan could be used to protect 50-60% of a single individuals assets from nursing home or Medicaid spend down.  With a married couple, we may be able to protect 100% of the assets, so that the all of the assets are available for the health, community spouse.  Give us a call at (888) 390-4360 and we can discuss all the potential options to plan for your family.

The post Does a Land Contract Count Towards the Medicaid Asset Limit in Michigan? appeared first on Estate Planning Lawyers | Elder Law Attorneys | Brighton | Novi | Livonia Elder Law Attorneys.

To qualify for Medicaid in Michigan to receive funds to help pay for nursing home care, a single individual or widow can only have $2,000 worth of countable assets.

Does a land contract count towards that asset limit or is it considered an income stream for Medicaid in Michigan?

The answer is….it depends.  Just like many legal questions there are a number of factors in whether the land contract is an income stream or an asset.

A seller’s interest in a land contract is typically viewed as an asset according to the BEM (the manual case workers use to administer Medicaid in Michigan).  The value of the asset is what the land contract could be sold for in the owner’s local area on short notice.  The land contract is the present value unless 2 banks or real estate appraisers say it is non-assignable or that it has zero value.  If that’s the case the the land contract would be valued as an income stream.

What To Do with a Land Contract and Medicaid?

So what to do?  It depends on what your family’s goals.  I’d recommend engaging a Certified Elder Law Attorney to advise on legal strategies to plan for Medicaid.  For example, a half-loaf plan could be used to protect 50-60% of a single individuals assets from nursing home or Medicaid spend down.  With a married couple, we may be able to protect 100% of the assets, so that the all of the assets are available for the health, community spouse.  Give us a call at (888) 390-4360 and we can discuss all the potential options to plan for your family.

The post Does a Land Contract Count Towards the Medicaid Asset Limit in Michigan? appeared first on The Elder Care Firm.

According to a communication from Terrence M. Beurer, Director, Field Operations Administration, all SBO Trust assets are deemed countable pursuant to BEM 401, page 11 regarding Medicaid irrevocable trusts, which states:

Count as the person’s countable asset the value of the countable assets in the trust principal if there is any condition under which the principal could be paid to or on behalf of the person from an irrevocable trust.

This is a huge and disturbing change of policy with zero warning.

This effects married couples where one spouse is health and one spouse is in a nursing home.  As a Certified Elder Law Attorney, we have other planning strategies that are available to protect the assets, however, for Michigan married couples who have SBO Trust currently in process with DHS looking to protect their assets from nursing home spend down, this will be a huge problem and will most likely result in a bunch of denials.

According to a communication from Terrence M. Beurer, Director, Field Operations Administration, all SBO Trust assets are deemed countable pursuant to BEM 401, page 11 regarding Medicaid irrevocable trusts, which states:

Count as the person’s countable asset the value of the countable assets in the trust principal if there is any condition under which the principal could be paid to or on behalf of the person from an irrevocable trust.

This is a huge and disturbing change of policy with zero warning.

This effects married couples where one spouse is health and one spouse is in a nursing home.  As a Certified Elder Law Attorney, we have other planning strategies that are available to protect the assets, however, for Michigan married couples who have SBO Trust currently in process with DHS looking to protect their assets from nursing home spend down, this will be a huge problem and will most likely result in a bunch of denials.

The post Massive Changes to Medicaid Planning in Michigan For Married Couples using Sole Benefit Trusts appeared first on Elder Care Firm.