DHA Case No. MGE 215913 (Wis. Div. Hearings and Appeals Feb. 14, 2025) (DHS) ↓ Download PDF In Wisconsin, an irrevocable burial trust is exempt only up to $4,500. In this case, the petitioner had $11,663.82 in irrevocable burial trusts. ALJ Nicole Bjork concluded only $4,500 and the cost of a casket ($1,910) could be […] Read more

DHA Case No. MDV 215927 (Wis. Div. Hearings and Appeals Feb. 3, 2025) (DHS) ↓ Download PDF If an irrevocable annuity can be sold on the secondary market, it is a countable, available asset. In this case, the petitioner owned an irrevocable annuity but could still transfer ownership and change the beneficiary and had received […] Read more

DHA Case No. MDV 55/83139 (Wis. Div. Hearings and Appeals May 9, 2007) (DHS) ↓ Download PDF To count as exempt homestead property, the Medicaid applicant must currently live on the property (or have lived there before admission to a facility and intend to return). In this case, the petitioner received $219,000 from a lawsuit […] Read more

DHA Case No. MAP 214590 (Wis. Div. Hearings and Appeals Jan. 15, 2025) (DHS) ↓ Download PDF The Wisconsin Administrative Code exempts non-homestead property if it produces a reasonable amount of income, but the Medicaid Eligibility Handbook limits this exemption to $6,000. In this case, the petitioner owned a single rental home that produced at […] Read more

DHA Case No. MGE 212301 (Wis. Div. Hearings and Appeals Sep. 16, 2024) (DHS) ↓ Download PDF The agency can deny Medicaid when the applicant or recipient is able to produce required verifications but refuses or fails to do so. In this case, the petitioner failed to verify, at his renewal, one of his vehicles, […] Read more

DHA Case No. FCP 215902 (Wis. Div. Hearings and Appeals Feb. 19, 2025) (DHS) ↓ Download PDF An irrevocable burial trust (as opposed to a life insurance-funded burial contract) is exempt up to $4,500; any amount over that is countable. In this case, the petitioner was disenrolled from Family Care due to his $8,800 irrevocable […] Read more

DHA Case No. MGE 215065 (Wis. Div. Hearings and Appeals Nov. 1, 2024) (DHS) ↓ Download PDF For a single person, up to $1,500 can be exempted as a “burial fund” to the extent other exempt burial assets (burial trusts, life-insurance funded burial contracts, exempt life insurance policies, and burial insurance) do not exceed that […] Read more

DHA Case No. MDV 68/86274 (Wis. Div. Hearings and Appeals Apr. 3, 1995) (DHS) ↓ Download PDF It is generally a divestment to transfer an asset while receiving less than its fair market value in cash, services, or other forms of payment. In this case, the petitioner and her husband sold their homestead real estate […] Read more

DHA Case No. MDV 30/115352 (Wis. Div. Hearings and Appeals Jan. 14, 2011) (DHS) ↓ Download PDF While it is generally a divestment to transfer resources for less than fair market value, there are exceptions for transferring homestead property to a caretaker child or transferring exempt business property. In this case, the petitioner owned two […] Read more

DHA Case No. MDV 13/106538 (Wis. Div. Hearings and Appeals Jan. 4, 2010) (DHS) ↓ Download PDF A transfer to an irrevocable trust is generally a divestment if the trust cannot make payments back to (or for the benefit of) the grantor under any circumstances, but a divestment can be cured if the full value […] Read more

DHA Case No. MGE 157892 (Wis. Div. of Hearings and Appeals July 30, 2014) (DHS) ↓ Download PDF County agencies may not over-verify; they may only require the verification needed to determine eligibility. In this case, the agency requested verification of an old family trust that had been depleted and the value of a Wispact […] Read more

DHA Case No. MED 70/82111 (Wis. Div. of Hearings and Appeals February 28, 2007) (DHS) ↓ Download PDF The asset limit for Institutional MA is $2,000. In this case, the petitioner misidentified a savings account as life insurance on her application. The county worker, who was “simply scanning the application” at the time, advised the […] Read more

DHA Case No. MGE 198675 (Wis. Div. of Hearings and Appeals August 5, 2020) (DHS) ↓ Download PDF An asset is unavailable if a member lacks the ability to provide legal access, no one else can access the asset, and a process has been started to get legal access. In this case, the petitioner was […] Read more

DHA Case No. MGE 213476 (Wis. Div. of Hearings and Appeals July 8, 2024) (DHS) ↓ Download PDF The county agency must give individuals adequate written notice of verification requests. In this case, the requests “became numerous and internally inconsistent,” confusing the petitioner. ALJ Kenneth Duren concluded the agency failed to follow proper verification procedures […] Read more