Multiple Designated Assets Excess Value

Multiple Protected Assets Excess Value

When a client is choosing to protect several assets whose total value exceeds the PAL, the client must decide which asset to fully protect. A client must first protect the full amount of one asset before another asset may be protected. A client cannot apply part of two different assets.

You should discuss the MA eligibility consequences of protecting one asset over another so that the client may make an informed choice. The client should consult with a financial advisor to help with that choice.

Example:

Jane requests MA payment of LTC services through the CAC waiver. Her PAL is $250,000 and she has exhausted the policy’s benefits. Jane chooses to protect her home which has a FMV of $200,000. She also chooses to protect a CD with a $52,000 value. The value of the assets she has chosen to protect is $2,000 above her PAL.

Action:

Jane must choose which asset, the house or the CD, is fully protected.

If she fully protects the house rather than the CD, the $2,000 in excess of the PAL must be counted in Jane’s asset total because a CD is a counted asset.

If she fully protects the CD rather than the house, then the $2,000 in excess of the PAL is excluded because her home is an excluded asset. An estate recovery claim may be filed for the unprotected value of the house.