Protect Your Assets with a Medicaid Asset Protection Trust

When determining a person's eligibility for Title 19, the Wisconsin Department of Health and Social Services may only consider those assets which are actually available, pursuant to HFS § 103.06(1)(a).

According to the State of Wisconsin Department of Heath Services Medicaid Eligibility Handbook, §16.2.1:

An asset is available when:

1. It can be sold, transferred, or disposed of by the owner or the owner’s representative, and
2. The owner has a legal right to the money obtained from sale of the asset, and
3. The owner has the legal ability to make the money available for support and maintenance, and
4. The asset can be made available in less than 30 days.

An asset is unavailable if either:

1. The applicant lacks the ability to provide legal access to the assets, and
2. No one else can access the assets, and
3. A process has been started to get legal access to the assets; or when the owner or owner’s representative documents that the asset will not be available for 30 days or more.

Available assets may include such things as real estate, trust assets, joint and solely held property and any property in which the applicant has an interest.

Contrary to the common misperception, the State of Wisconsin cannot force an applicant to sell or transfer assets. The only recourse available is to deny the application on the basis of excess resources.

Assets documented to be not actually available for 30 days or more are considered "unavailable" until actually available.