Florida Medicaid Planning: How to Protect Your Home, Assets, and Your Spouse
How to Protect Your Home, Assets, and Your Spouse
Answers to the questions families ask most when facing long-term care costs in Florida
We are all living longer — and increasingly faced with the fact that we, or a loved one, may need long-term care. Maybe an aide at home, an assisted living facility, memory care, or skilled nursing care. The problem is that this care is extremely expensive, and most families don't know where to turn.
Will they take your house? Will you have to blow through your life savings? What if your spouse is still at home? Medicaid planning is complex — but this guide answers the questions most families have when they first walk into our office.
This is the question we hear most often — and the answer is: not with proper planning.
Yes — with proper planning. Your home, within certain equity limits, is exempt from Medicaid and does not count toward the $2,000 asset limit for eligibility.
No. With proper planning, your home can pass to your children even if you receive Medicaid benefits. Medicaid will not take it with proper planning in place.
If you are married and the healthy spouse continues to live in the house, it is exempt regardless of equity limits. There are also adult child caregiver and sibling exemptions that may apply.
Protecting your home is totally possible — but you have to plan properly. It is critical that you plan ahead to keep your homestead and avoid a lien being placed on the home.
To qualify for Florida Medicaid long-term care — whether for a nursing home, assisted living facility, or home care — you generally cannot have more than $2,000 in countable assets ($3,000 if married) and $2,982 in gross monthly income.
Not all assets are treated equally. Some are exempt and do not count toward the $2,000 limit:
- Primary home — equity limits may apply
- One vehicle of any value
- Irrevocable pre-paid burial arrangement
- $2,500 designated burial account
- Income-producing property
- Term life insurance with no cash value
- Qualified retirement accounts — treated favorably in Florida
Assets that do count toward the $2,000 limit include bank accounts, revocable trust assets, annuities, investments, CDs, and second homes or other properties.
Just because you are over in assets does NOT mean you have to spend it all down. The point of Medicaid planning is to protect and preserve your assets — and still get benefits.
Health insurance for people over 65. Does NOT cover long-term care or custodial care. Only covers short-term rehabilitation — not nursing home stays for long-term care.
Has programs that cover most of the cost of a nursing home, a good part of assisted living, and some home care. This is what pays for long-term care in Florida.
Medicare does NOT pay for nursing homes, assisted living facilities, or home care for long-term purposes. Medicaid does. This misunderstanding causes families to lose valuable time and money.
A considerable amount — and South Florida prices are among the highest in the nation.
Most people do not know that Medicaid benefits exist and can help with these astronomical costs. I have met with countless families who already spent hundreds of thousands of dollars because they had no idea these benefits were available to them.
Long-term care can cost thousands each month. There is help available — you do not have to spend down all your savings to receive care.
No. While planning before a crisis is always better — because we have more tools and more time — we can absolutely still protect your assets and secure Medicaid benefits even in a crisis situation.
Many of our clients come to us when their loved one is in the hospital, about to be discharged, or already in a nursing home. We help them too.
Even though proactive planning is better, we can help you get benefits even during a crisis — there are more options than most families realize.
Do not do this. This is called gifting, and it is one of the most expensive mistakes you can make in Medicaid planning.
You cannot transfer assets for less than fair market value to qualify for Medicaid. If you transfer money, Medicaid will impose a penalty period for the value of all gifts made in the 5-year look-back period — meaning you won't be able to receive Medicaid benefits when you need them most. Adding a child to an account or deed also counts as a gift.
If you have already gifted assets and need Medicaid, we may still be able to fix it and get you benefits the right way. But please — do not transfer money without first speaking with an experienced elder law attorney.
There is a right way to protect and preserve your assets AND benefit from them. Do not try to do this on your own — we can help you do it correctly.
Florida has strong protections for the healthy spouse — often called the "community spouse." Medicaid will not force you to sell your house, and the government will not leave your spouse without resources.
- Home: If you are married, your spouse can keep the home — it does not count toward the $2,000 Medicaid asset limit
- Community Spouse Resource Allowance (CSRA): The well spouse can keep a significant amount of assets on top of the $2,000 the Medicaid spouse is allowed — this figure changes yearly
- Minimum Monthly Maintenance Needs Allowance (MMMNA): The Medicaid spouse can divert some or all of their income to the well spouse to prevent financial hardship
- Shelter expenses: In some cases, we may be able to get additional income above the MMMNA to help cover the well spouse's housing costs
We can protect assets and income so that one spouse is not left impoverished simply because the other spouse needs nursing home or long-term care.
Under Florida law, Medicaid can file a claim against the estate of a deceased Medicaid recipient to seek reimbursement — up to the amount of long-term care services provided. This is called Medicaid Recovery.
In Florida, this lien can only be placed on the probate estate. This makes it critically important to plan so that a person on Medicaid avoids probate entirely.
Using Lady Bird deeds, trusts, and other strategies, we can help you avoid probate completely — shielding your estate from Medicaid recovery and preserving assets for your heirs.
Medicaid can place a lien on your probate estate up to the full amount they spent on your care — potentially claiming assets your family assumed were safely inherited.
In Florida, Medicaid can come back and place a lien on your estate after death. The good news: we can avoid this lien completely with proper planning.
Medicaid planning is complex — but you don't have to figure it out alone. The Law Office of Patricia Keyes helps South Florida families protect their home, savings, and spouse from the high cost of long-term care. Call us for a direct, honest assessment of your options.
(954) 233-0682 mypklaw.orgThis article is for educational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Florida Medicaid rules are complex and change frequently. Every situation is unique — consult with a qualified elder law attorney before making any planning decisions.
