Medicaid Planning for Single Versus Married Adults
Medicaid planning is an important component of estate planning for adults in Georgia, whether you are trying to plan ahead and allow yourself to have a wide range of options for long-term care and asset protection, or you are an older adult who may soon need to rely on Medicaid to cover the costs of long-term care in a nursing home for yourself or your spouse. It is important to understand that when Medicaid covers the costs of long-term care in nursing homes for older adults, the eligibility requirements are a bit different depending on whether you are a single adult or a married adult, and then, whether only one of the spouses requires long-term care coverage through Medicaid or both spouses require it.
Consider the following information which can provide you with a general overview, and be sure to get in touch with an experienced Norcross elder law and estate planning attorney with your follow-up questions.
Asset and Income Limits Are Different for Single Versus Married Older Adults
When an older adult needs nursing home care, they will usually need to become eligible for Medicaid due to the very high costs of long-term care in a nursing home — especially when long-term care may be necessary for an extended period of time. Eligibility is based on both assets and income, and the eligibility limits can have differences between a single older adult versus a married older adult (even if only one of the spouses needs long-term care).
For either a single adult or a situation where only one spouse is applying, the income limits are the same: currently in Georgia in 2025, $2,901 per month for the applicant. The asset limit is $2,000 for a single applicant, but it essentially becomes $159,920 for married applicants when only one spouse is applying (divided as $2,000 in assets for the applying spouse, and $157,920 for the non-applying spouse). When two married spouses are both applying, the income limit becomes a joint $5,802 per month and a total asset limit of $3,000.
Medicaid Eligibility for Married Couples Depends On Whether One or Both Spouses Are Applying
Eligibility for married couples, as you may have gleaned from the above, depends on whether one or both of the spouses will be applying for Medicaid coverage.
It is also important to know that, for married couples, there are distinctions in what counts as countable versus non-countable income and assets when only one spouse applies versus when both spouses apply. If only one spouse applies, the other spouse’s income is not countable. However, assets are considered joint property, but a “Community Spouse Resource Allowance” protects some of the shared property for the non-applying spouse.
Countable Versus Non-Countable Assets and Income, and the Shared “Look Back” Period
Whether a single person or a married person applies for Medicaid coverage, the types or classifications of assets and income that are considered “countable” for Medicaid purposes versus “non-countable” are the same. In addition, the look back period is five years regardless of whether or not you are married.
Contact a Gwinnett County Estate Planning Lawyer
Do you have questions about Medicaid planning or other aspects of long-term care and estate planning? An experienced Gwinnett County estate planning attorney at Bowman Law Firm can assist you. Contact us today.
Source:
medicaid.georgia.gov/
