Medicaid Eligibility After Spouse Passes Away

When one member of a couple moves to a nursing home, we expect that spouse will be the first to die, but this isn’t always the case. What happens if a Medicaid recipient’s spouse dies first? If planning steps aren’t taken, the death of a spouse can affect the nursing home resident’s assets and eligibility for Medicaid.

The death of a Medicaid recipient’s spouse can affect the amount of assets the Medicaid recipient has, and therefore his Medicaid eligibility. For example, suppose a community spouse dies, and her will leaves her estate to her husband, who is in a nursing home and receiving Medicaid. The additional assets will make the husband ineligible for Medicaid. Even if the community spouse’s will did not leave anything to her husband, Florida allows a spouse to claim a share of the estate. Medicaid can assess a penalty even if the husband does not claim his share.

To prevent a community spouse’s death from affecting the institutionalized spouse’s Medicaid eligibility, it is important that the community spouse update his or her estate plan. There are steps the community spouse can take to protect the spouse in the nursing home, including setting up a trust.