What happens when your spouse moves into a nursing home, and you are suddenly worried about how you will pay the mortgage, buy groceries, or cover your everyday living expenses? For many married couples, the financial concerns surrounding long-term care can be just as overwhelming as the emotional challenges.
You may have spent decades sharing income, savings, and financial responsibilities. Now, with one spouse receiving nursing home care, you may wonder whether you can continue using that money to support yourself.
For married couples throughout Miami and South Florida, understanding how nursing home expenses, financial authority, and Florida Medicaid rules interact can help to prevent costly misunderstandings during an already difficult time.
Does Entering a Nursing Home Mean Your Spouse Loses Control of Their Money?
Moving into a nursing home does not automatically mean that someone loses ownership of their assets or the legal ability to manage their finances.
If your spouse remains capable of making financial decisions, that person generally retains the ability to manage his/her own money and authorize appropriate payments.
However, if your spouse becomes incapacitated, you may need appropriate legal authority to access accounts or handle financial transactions on their behalf.
Being married does not automatically give you unrestricted access to every account held solely in your spouse’s name.
A properly prepared durable power of attorney may allow an authorized agent to handle certain financial matters, depending on the powers granted in the document.
Understanding who has legal authority is an important first step.
What Happens When Medicaid Helps Pay for Nursing Home Care?
The financial picture can become more complicated when a spouse applies for Medicaid benefits or receives Medicaid benefits to help cover nursing home expenses.
Florida Medicaid has specific financial eligibility rules for married couples when one spouse requires institutional care, while the other continues to live in the community.
The spouse receiving nursing home care is commonly referred to as the institutionalized spouse. The spouse who remains at home is known as the community spouse.
These distinctions matter because Medicaid rules recognize that the community spouse still needs resources to maintain a home and meet ordinary living expenses.
The goal of these protections is to help prevent the community spouse from becoming impoverished simply because their husband or wife requires nursing home care.
Can the Spouse at Home Keep Some of the Couple’s Assets?
Under Medicaid’s spousal impoverishment protections, the community spouse may be permitted to retain certain assets, while the institutionalized spouse seeks Medicaid eligibility.
The amount that can be protected depends on the couple’s circumstances, the applicable financial limits, and how the assets are classified.
Certain assets may be excluded from Medicaid’s countable resource calculations, subject to applicable rules.
Other assets may need to be evaluated as part of the Medicaid application process.
It is important to understand that Medicaid eligibility rules do not necessarily determine who legally owns an asset or who has authority to access it.
For that reason, couples should review both their financial arrangements and their legal planning before making significant changes.
Can You Use Your Spouse’s Income to Pay Household Expenses?
One of the most important concerns for the community spouse is whether the income that previously supported the household will still be available.
When an institutionalized spouse qualifies for Medicaid nursing home benefits, much of that spouse’s income may generally be required to contribute toward the cost of care.
However, federal Medicaid rules provide protections that may allow a portion of the institutionalized spouse’s income to be allocated to the community spouse.
This is commonly addressed through the Minimum Monthly Maintenance Needs Allowance.
The amount potentially available depends on factors such as the community spouse’s income, applicable allowance limits, and certain household expenses.
These calculations can be particularly important when the community spouse has limited income or relies heavily on the institutionalized spouse’s retirement benefits.
Not every couple qualifies for the same allocation, and the rules should be evaluated based on the individual circumstances.
Why Account Ownership and Legal Authority Matter
Even when Medicaid rules permit certain resources or income to support the community spouse, practical access to those funds may still be an issue.
For example, a spouse may have retirement income deposited into an individually owned account. If that person becomes unable to manage their finances, the other spouse may encounter difficulties in accessing the funds without appropriate authority.
A durable power of attorney can be an important part of planning for this possibility.
The document should be reviewed by an experienced Florida estate planning attorney to determine whether it grants the necessary powers and complies with applicable Florida law.
Families should not assume that a joint account, marriage certificate, or informal family agreement will resolve every financial issue.
Should You Transfer Assets Before Applying for Medicaid?
When nursing home costs begin affecting a family’s savings, transferring assets may seem like a reasonable way to protect money for the spouse remaining at home.
However, Medicaid has rules governing asset transfers, and certain transfers can create eligibility problems or periods of ineligibility.
Some transfers between spouses may be permitted under applicable Medicaid rules, but that does not mean that every transfer is appropriate, or that it resolves all eligibility concerns.
Changes involving real estate, retirement accounts, investments, or other significant assets can also have tax, ownership, and estate planning consequences.
Before transferring assets, changing account ownership, or making substantial financial gifts, families should seek guidance from an experienced Florida estate planning and elder law attorney familiar with Florida Medicaid planning.
Your Estate Plan May Need Attention Too
When one spouse enters a nursing home, the family’s estate planning needs may change.
Documents that were appropriate when both spouses were healthy and living independently may need to be reviewed.
A durable power of attorney can address certain financial and legal decisions, and select a trusted individual to handle these decisions. A designation of health care surrogate identifies an individual authorized to make health care decisions under the circumstances provided by Florida law.
A last will and testament or revocable living trust may also need attention, particularly when the couple is considering how assets should pass after either spouse’s death.
Beneficiary designations and property ownership should be reviewed as part of the overall planning process.
The goal is to ensure that decisions about nursing home care, Medicaid eligibility, and estate planning are coordinated by an experienced Florida estate planning and elder law attorney rather than addressed separately.
Do Not Assume You Have to Spend Everything
One of the most concerning misunderstandings surrounding nursing home care is the belief that a married couple must exhaust nearly all of their financial resources before Medicaid assistance becomes available.
Although Medicaid has strict financial eligibility requirements, protections exist for spouses who remain in the community.
Understanding those protections may help families make better decisions about income, savings, property, and future financial needs.
The earlier these questions are addressed, the more opportunity families may have to evaluate their options before a financial crisis develops.
Protecting the Spouse at Home Is Part of the Planning Process
When your spouse needs nursing home care, your attention naturally turns toward making sure that he/she receives appropriate support. However, your own financial security matters, too.
Understanding which assets may be protected, whether income can be allocated for household expenses, and who has authority to manage financial matters can help you prepare for the changes ahead.
At Perlin Estate Planning & Probate, we help individuals and families throughout Miami and South Florida address important estate planning and financial concerns that can arise as care needs change. If your spouse has entered a nursing home or you are concerned about how future care expenses may affect your family, contact our office today to schedule a consultation and discuss the legal planning options available for your circumstances.