Long Term Care Insurance: A Critical Piece of Asset Protection. Stocks, bonds, annuities, mutual funds, 401(k)s, pensions, CDs…they all make up a well-balanced and diversified portfolio to make sure your assets are protected from market risks.

Does Medi-Cal look at assets?

To find out if you qualify for one of Medi-Cal’s programs, look at your countable asset levels. You may have up to $2,000 in assets as an individual or $3,000 in assets as a couple. Some of your personal assets are not considered when determining whether you qualify for Medi-Cal coverage.

How does a settlement affect Medi-Cal?

If plaintiffs structure their settlement, they can still be eligible for Medi-Cal. Social Security and SSDI government-benefit programs are entitlements, therefore they are not means tested; asset and income limits do not apply; settlement proceeds will not impact eligibility.

How to protect assets when your spouse needs long-term care?

The monthly cost of Long-Term Care is enormous and can quickly deplete family resources. However, there are Estate Planning strategies that can help you protect your assets while allowing your spouse to receive public assistance benefits to pay for the cost of his or her Long-Term Care.

Can a spouse keep part of their assets for Medicaid?

Medicaid allows the spouse of the long-term care applicant to keep a portion of the assets, rather than require the couple to completely spend down all of their assets on care for eligibility purposes. In addition, there are both exceptions and strategies that couples can employ when considering their joint assets and applying for Medicaid.

Can a community spouse transfer assets to long term care?

If the community spouse’s assets do not equal the minimum, the long-term care spouse is able to transfer assets until the minimum is reached. If the combined assets of the couple are between $66,557 and $234,496, each spouse is able to keep one half of the total assets.

When to transfer assets for the benefit of the spouse?

Also, federal law states that any assets transferred to another “for the sole benefit of the spouse” must be spent for the benefit of the spouse within a time-frame corresponding to the spouse’s life expectancy.