Why Medicaid rules complicate an unexpected inheritance
Medicaid’s long-term-care coverage is a lifeline precisely because it sets strict financial limits. Most states cap countable resources at $2,000 and treat any lump-sum inheritance as a new asset that can bump a recipient off the rolls until the money is “spent down.” That reality leads many beneficiaries to explore a probate advance—a non-recourse transaction that converts an expected distribution into cash today without adding a traditional debt to the recipient’s balance sheet. The question is whether that infusion will be viewed as income or a resource when Medicaid re-evaluates eligibility.