3.3 Divestment

FCP 140118 (07/13/2012)
$100k spent gambling was divestment due to no verification

Tags: 3 Financial Eligibility, 3.3 Divestment, 3.3.01 Penalty period, 3.3.06 Transfers made for purpose other than to qualify for Medicaid, 3.3.06.3 Pattern of gifting, 3.3.16 Gambling losses, 5 Subprograms, 5.04 Institutional Long-Term Care, ALJ Kelly Cochrane

DHA Case No. FCP 140118 (Wis. Div. Hearings and Appeals Jul. 13, 2012) (DHS) ↓ Download PDF Adivestment occurs when an institutionalized individual or spouse transfers assets for less than fair market value during the look-back period. In this case, the petitioner’s husband made cash withdrawals of $100,000 and $17,000 shortly before the application for […] Read more

MDV 138459 (04/24/2012)
Unexplained bank withdrawals were divestments

Tags: 3 Financial Eligibility, 3.3 Divestment, 5 Subprograms, 5.04 Institutional Long-Term Care, ALJ Gary M. Wolkstein

DHA Case No. MDV 138459 (Wis. Div. Hearings and Appeals Apr. 24, 2012) (DHS) ↓ Download PDF A divestment occurs when an institutionalized individual transfers assets for less than fair market value during the look-back period. In this case, the petitioner’s bank statements showed withdrawals of $29,134.50 over two years. Her daughter and POA could […] Read more

MDV 130600 (05/23/2011)
Pattern of gifts over 15% of income were divestments

Tags: 3 Financial Eligibility, 3.3 Divestment, 3.3.01 Penalty period, 3.3.06 Transfers made for purpose other than to qualify for Medicaid, 3.3.06.3 Pattern of gifting, 5 Subprograms, 5.05 Home and Community-Based Waivers Long-Term Care, 5.05.1 Family Care, ALJ Marina Croft

DHA Case No. MDV 130600 (Wis. Div. Hearings and Appeals May 23, 2011) (DHS) ↓ Download PDF A transfer of income or resources for less than fair market value is a divestment and results in a penalty period, unless the transfer qualifies for an exception. One exception is if the applicant can show a pattern […] Read more

MDV 55/83139 (05/09/2007)
Land intended for future home was not exempt homestead

Tags: 3 Financial Eligibility, 3.2 Assets, 3.2.7 Real property, 3.2.7.1 Homestead, 3.3 Divestment, ALJ Michael D. O’Brien

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

MGE 217838 (07/15/2025)
Spousal support payments deducted from Community Waivers income

Tags: 3 Financial Eligibility, 3.1 Income, 3.1.8 Income deductions, 3.1.8.2 Support payments, 3.3 Divestment, 3.3.01 Penalty period, 5 Subprograms, 5.05 Home and Community-Based Waivers Long-Term Care, 5.05.1 Family Care, ALJ Kate J. Schilling

DHA Case No. MGE 217838 (Wis. Div. Hearings and Appeals Jul. 15, 2025) (DHS) ↓ Download PDF Court-ordered support payments are deducted from income for an “institutionalized person,” according to the Medicaid Eligibility Handbook (MEH). In this case, the petitioner paid $4,059 per month in court-ordered spousal support, had monthly income of $12,089.20 ($8,045.98 from a […] Read more

MDV 215995 (02/07/2025)
Landlocked real estate sold for less than tax-estimated value was not divestment

Tags: 3 Financial Eligibility, 3.2.7 Real property, 3.3 Divestment, 3.3.03 Transfers for FMV, 3.3.06 Transfers made for purpose other than to qualify for Medicaid, ALJ John P. Tedesco

DHA Case No. MDV 215995 (Wis. Div. Hearings and Appeals Feb. 7, 2025) (DHS) ↓ Download PDF Selling real estate for less than its fair market value is generally a divestment. In this case, the petitioner sold a real estate parcel to her son for $25,531.69; its estimated fair market value on the tax assessment […] Read more

MDV 214223 (11/27/2024)
Old irr. trust divestment imposed after renewal, benefits not continued pending appeal

Tags: 1 Applications and Renewals, 1.2 Renewals, 3 Financial Eligibility, 3.3 Divestment, 3.3.01 Penalty period, 3.3.05 Ownership returned; cure, 3.3.15 Trusts, 3.3.15.4 Irrevocable trusts—created during or after look back, 3.3.25 Life estates, 3.3.25.1 Life estate—transfer of property for less than FMV, 3.3.25.4 Life estate—divestment by remainder person, 4 Program Administration, 4.7 Notices & fair hearings, 5 Subprograms, 5.04 Institutional Long-Term Care, ALJ Kelly Cochrane

DHA Case No. MDV 214223 (Wis. Div. Hearings and Appeals Nov. 27, 2024) (DHS) ↓ Download PDF A divestment penalty is generally imposed when an applicant reports a divestment and would be otherwise eligible. In this case, the petitioner originally applied in 2020 after creating an irrevocable trust, but no divestment penalty was imposed because […] Read more

MDV 214942 (11/20/2024)
Undue hardship waiver and divestment appeal deadlines missed, a cautionary tale

Tags: 3 Financial Eligibility, 3.3 Divestment, 3.3.11 Undue hardship, 4 Program Administration, 4.5 Undue hardship, 4.7 Notices & fair hearings, ALJ Nicole Bjork

DHA Case No. MDV 214942 (Wis. Div. Hearings and Appeals Nov. 20, 2024) (DHS) ↓ Download PDF The deadline to file an appeal of a denied Medicaid application is 45 days from the notice. If a separate undue harship waiver is requested, the petitioner has 20 days from the request to provide any additional proof […] Read more

MDV 214870 (11/19/2024)
$275,000 lost to scam was not a divestment, enrollment backdated

Tags: 3 Financial Eligibility, 3.3 Divestment, 3.3.10 Intent to sell for FMV, 3.3.11 Undue hardship, 4 Program Administration, 4.5 Undue hardship, 5 Subprograms, 5.05 Home and Community-Based Waivers Long-Term Care, 5.05.7 Effective date, ALJ Nicole Bjork

DHA Case No. MGE 214870 (Wis. Div. Hearings and Appeals Nov. 19, 2024) (DHS) ↓ Download PDF One exception to the usual divestment rule is if the individual intended to dispose of the resource at fair market value. In this case, the petitioner’s husband had “invested” $275,000 in an online scam, for which the county […] Read more

MDV 214370 (10/22/2024)
Purchase and transfer of exempt vehicle, reimbursements not divestments

Tags: 3 Financial Eligibility, 3.3 Divestment, 3.3.04 Transfers of exempt income or assets, 3.3.07 Payments to relatives, 3.3.07.2 For services, 5 Subprograms, 5.04 Institutional Long-Term Care, ALJ Nicole Bjork

DHA Case No. MDV 214370 (Wis. Div. Hearings and Appeals Oct. 22, 2024) (DHS) ↓ Download PDF The transfer of an exempt asset (except a homestead) is not a divestment. In this case, the petitioner bought a car—though she could not drive herself—that her son used to transport her to medical appointments. About seven months […] Read more

MDV 177535 (02/09/2017)
100+ small gifts over four years not made with intent to qualify

Tags: 3 Financial Eligibility, 3.3 Divestment, 3.3.06 Transfers made for purpose other than to qualify for Medicaid, 3.3.06.1 Sufficient resources to cover 5 years of LTC, 5 Subprograms, 5.04 Institutional Long-Term Care, ALJ Mayumi M. Ishii

DHA Case No. MDV 177535 (Wis. Div. Hearings and Appeals Feb. 9, 2017) (DHS) ↓ Download PDF When a Medicaid applicant can show that transfers to family members were made for a purpose other than to qualify for Medicaid, those transfers are not divestments. In this case, the petitioner made more than a hundred small […] Read more

MDV 190237 (12/13/2018)
Cash gifts to family one month before admission were divestments, but older gifts were not

Tags: 3 Financial Eligibility, 3.3 Divestment, 3.3.06 Transfers made for purpose other than to qualify for Medicaid, 3.3.06.1 Sufficient resources to cover 5 years of LTC, 3.3.06.3 Pattern of gifting, 5 Subprograms, 5.04 Institutional Long-Term Care, ALJ Nicole Bjork

DHA Case No. MDV 190237 (Wis. Div. Hearings and Appeals Dec. 13, 2018) (DHS) ↓ Download PDF Any transfer of resources for less than fair market value is generally a divestment, but there is an exception if the resource was transferred “exclusively for some other purpose than to become eligible for MA.” In this case, […] Read more

MDV 68/86274 (04/03/1995)
Real estate sold to son below FMV was divestment, no written agreement re his services

Tags: 3 Financial Eligibility, 3.2 Assets, 3.2.1 Availability, 3.2.6 Liquid assets, 3.2.6.12 Land contract, 3.3 Divestment, 3.3.03 Transfers for FMV, 3.3.07.2 For services, 3.3.12 Homestead property, ALJ Kenneth P. Adler

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

MDV 13/10761 (02/19/1997)
Real estate sold to daughter below FMV was divestment, despite daughter’s payments of property expenses

Tags: 3 Financial Eligibility, 3.3 Divestment, 3.3.03 Transfers for FMV, 3.3.07 Payments to relatives, 3.3.07.2 For services, 3.3.22 Community spouse divestment, 3.3.22.1 Before 5 years, ALJ Gary M. Wolkstein

DHA Case No. MDV 13/10761 (Wis. Div. Hearings and Appeals Feb. 19, 1997) (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’s spouse sold their non-homestead real estate for $20,590 […] Read more

MDV 71/35825 (08/28/1998)
Home sold on market for less than tax assessed value not a divestment

Tags: 3 Financial Eligibility, 3.3 Divestment, 3.3.03 Transfers for FMV, 3.3.12 Homestead property, 5 Subprograms, 5.04 Institutional Long-Term Care, ALJ Kenneth D. Duren

DHA Case No. MDV 71/35825 (Wis. Div. Hearings and Appeals Aug. 28, 1998) (DHS) ↓ Download PDF It is generally a divestment to sell real estate for less than its fair market value. In this case, the petitioner sold his home on the market for $62,000, less than its tax-assessed value of $72,100. ALJ Kenneth […] Read more

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