Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in Massachusetts
I live in Maasachusetts and I am a 68 year old woman whose husband's health is deteriorating to the point that nursing home care is not far off. I still work but my husband is retired and receives a pension from his previous employer. We have about 6000 dollars in the bank, and 94,000 dollars in stocks. We rent an apartment and only I own a car, a used vehicle worth maybe 3000 dollars. So in total our assets amount to a little over 100K. Here is my dilemma, if my husband goes into a nursing home I do not want to lose all my savings and stocks..is there any way I can protect my assets now before he enters a home? I have heard about medicaid being an option. I just think it is ridiculous for a spouse to become destitute due to the exorbitant costs of long term care-it simply isn't fair. There must be a legal way to save everything I have worked so hard for all my life and not have to hand it over to an over-priced nursing home. Can you help?
2 Answers from Attorneys
Under the present law a wife is responsible for a husband's maintenance in a nursing home, however only half the assets are subject to a claim by Medicaid. I would suggest you consult with an Elder care attorney to see what options you may have to protect the $50,000 you want to retain.
There is a 5 year look back period so it would depend on how soon your husband may need assistance from Medicaid.
Please feel free to contact me if you want to discuss this in more detail without obligation,
Actually, in Mass. a community spouse (the spouse who is not in the nursing home) is allowed to keep all of the countable assets up to $109,560.00. The rule about keeping half of the assets is rather outdated.
I suggest that you meet with an attorney with experience in this field to make sure you are getting the most up to date information. My practice is focused on elder law and helping families like yours prepare for long term nursing costs while making sure the spouse at home is protected, and that the assets are not at risk if the spouse at home passes away first.
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