One of the biggest questions in determining Medicaid eligibility for long term care is what are the person's "Available Assets" our "Countable Assets". The Countable Assets must be spent down to $2000/$4000 for Medicaid eligibility (depending on the program being applied for). A new case decided today says that New Jersey can look at certain promissory notes as being Countable Assets.

Elderlawanswers.com reports:

In a long-running case that has bounced back and forth between two federal courts, the Third Circuit Court of Appeals rules that New Jersey's Medicaid agency may analyze promissory notes as trust-like devices and count the notes as available resources. Sable v. Velez (U.S. Ct. App., 3rd Cir., No. 10-4647, July 12, 2011).

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