Current through Register Vol. 49, No. 13, September 23, 2024
Subpart
1.
General provisions of property ownership.
The equity value of all nonexcluded real and personal
property owned by an applicant or resident must not exceed $3,000. The facility
financial staff must use the equity value of legally available real and
personal property, except property excluded in subpart
2 or
3, to determine the resources
available to or on behalf of an applicant or resident.
A. If real or personal property is jointly
owned by two or more persons, the facility financial staff shall assume that
each person owns an equal share. When the owners document greater or smaller
ownership, the facility financial staff shall use that greater or smaller share
to determine the equity value held by or on behalf of an applicant or resident.
Other types of ownership, such as a life estate, must be evaluated according to
law.
B. Real or personal property
owned by or on behalf of an applicant or resident is presumed legally available
unless the applicant or resident documents that the property is not legally
available to the applicant or resident. If real or personal property is not
legally available, its equity must not be applied against the limits of
subparts
2 and
3. Examples of property not
available to a person are an estate that has not been probated, property owned
together with one or more other people that the facility financial staff
determines cannot be liquidated or reduced to cash through exercise of the
applicant's or resident's legal rights, and property of an applicant or
resident who is determined incompetent by a court and whose guardianship is
pending. The facility financial staff shall consider as available property that
property which a person has failed to make available for purposes of gaining
admission to a facility operated by the commissioner of veterans affairs or
avoiding payment of the maintenance charge. An example of a person's failure to
make property available occurs when the person refuses to accept a share of an
inheritance.
C. Real or personal
property transferred by an applicant or resident in violation of part
9050.0650 is presumed legally
available.
D. The facility
financial staff shall consider as available an individual retirement account,
Keogh account, or other pension or deferred compensation plan account. The
facility financial staff shall evaluate the accounts on the basis of the funds
deposited in the account and the interest accrued on the funds less the penalty
for early withdrawal.
E. The
facility financial staff shall consider as available the proceeds that a person
receives in a tort settlement, whether the settlement is entered into by the
person or the person's guardian. If the settlement is received as a one-time
payment, the facility financial staff shall treat it as a lump sum. If the
settlement is structured to be paid over a period of time, the facility
financial staff shall evaluate the property as those funds become available to
the resident. This item applies only to settlements entered into after April 9,
1990.
Subp. 2.
Real property limitations.
Real property owned by an applicant or resident must be
excluded from consideration as an available resource, subject to the
limitations in items A and B.
A. The
facility financial staff shall exclude the homestead of an applicant or
resident from consideration as a resource according to the provisions in
subitems (1) to (4).
(1) The spouse of an
applicant or resident or the dependent child or children of the applicant or
resident, if any, must occupy the homestead.
(2) An applicant or resident or spouse of an
applicant or resident who is purchasing real property through a contract for
deed and using that property as a home is considered the owner of real
property.
(3) The total amount of
land that can be excluded under this subpart is limited as specified in
Minnesota Statutes, section
510.02.
Additional contiguous platted lots must be assessed as to their legal and
actual availability according to subpart
1.
(4) When real property that has been used as
a home by an applicant or resident, the spouse of an applicant or resident, or
the dependent child or children of an applicant or resident is sold, the
facility financial staff shall treat the proceeds from that sale as excluded
property for a period of two years if the person intends to reinvest them in
another home and maintains those proceeds, unused for other purposes, in a
separate account. If the property is held jointly, any earnings that accrue on
the sales proceeds before reinvestment or any excess proceeds not used for
reinvestment must be treated as joint income or property and divided according
to subpart
1, item A.
B. Real property being sold on a
contract for deed must be excluded if the net present value of the contract in
combination with other property does not exceed the limitations in parts
9050.0560 and
9050.0600. If the present value
exceeds limitations, the contract payments must be considered as income to the
applicant or resident. If the contract is sold, proceeds from the sale must be
treated as lump sum payments.
C.
Real property that is rental property leased at a market rent and producing a
net income must be excluded. If the property is sold, the proceeds must be
treated as lump sum payments.
D.
Real property on or in which the person operates a business that is anticipated
to produce a net income must be excluded. If the property is sold, the proceeds
must be treated as lump sum payments.
E. Real property that is not salable must be
excluded. If the property is an asset that must be liquidated for the resident
or applicant to meet the financial needs established by the maintenance charge
calculations, the property must be sold within six months of the determination
of financial need or within six months of the date of initial admission,
whichever is later, unless the property is not salable. For purposes of this
item, "not salable" means:
(1) two neutral
licensed professionals agree that the property is not salable due to a
specified condition; if the nonsalable condition is due to an action taken by
the applicant or resident within the 12 months prior to the initial admission,
there is a presumption that the action was an improper transfer pursuant to
part
9050.0650, subpart
3, and is subject to the
considerations listed in that subpart; or
(2) an actual good faith sale attempt was
made at a price not more than an estimate of the highest current market value
obtained within six months of application for admission or since the last
determination of the maintenance charge, but no offer to purchase was received.
The market value price estimate must be based upon the written estimates from
two licensed real estate professionals. If a purchase offer at the lowest
professional market value price estimate was received but was rejected by the
seller, it is presumed that the failure to sell the property was due to an
improper action on the part of the seller. The lowest market price estimate
must be the figure taken into account in determining the resident's maintenance
charge or the spousal allowance.
For purposes of subitems (1) and (2), the source of
information must be from the same geographic area as the property and
knowledgeable about the value of the type of property offered for sale. For
purposes of subitem (2), "an actual sale attempt" means the individual has
listed the property with a licensed real estate broker or salesperson or, if
the property is offered for sale by the owner, the owner has affixed to the
property a prominently posted, conspicuous sign that is readable from the road
or driveway entrance. The sign must include in large, legible type a notice of
the sale and the address or phone number of the owner. The owner must
prominently advertise the property for sale in the official newspaper of the
county, the newspaper of largest circulation in the county, or the local
shopper. The minimum period of an actual sale attempt is 90 consecutive days.
If a property has been determined to be nonsalable, the owner of the property
must offer it for sale again or establish it is still nonsalable within two
years after the date of the last determination of nonsalability.
F. Other real property
must be excluded if required by federal law, federal regulations, or state
law.
Subp. 3.
Other property limitations.
The facility financial staff shall exclude the value of the
following personal property:
A. one
motor vehicle, for personal use. The motor vehicle must be kept for the primary
use of the resident, spouse, or dependent child. The person for whom the
vehicle is intended must have a valid driver's license. The administrator has
discretionary authority to permit a waiver on the driver's license
requirement;
B. the value of a
prepaid burial account, burial plan, burial contract, or burial trust up to an
amount set by the commissioner of veterans affairs or the entire amount of an
investment made prior to the date of initial admission, whichever is greater.
The commissioner of veterans affairs shall establish and annually review the
items categorized under "burial account," "burial plan," "burial contract," and
"burial trust" and establish maximum value allowance limits on those items. The
allowance set by the commissioner of veterans affairs for total burial and
funeral costs must not be below $5,000;
C. 50 percent of property owned jointly with
a spouse;
D. household goods and
furniture and personal effects, wearing apparel, and jewelry regularly used by
the applicant or resident in day-to-day living;
E. the value of personal property needed to
produce income for a business or farm, including tools, implements, farm
animals and inventory, or capital and operating assets of a trade or business
necessary to income production, and if the property is sold, the proceeds must
be treated as lump sum payments; and
F. other personal property specifically
excluded by federal law, federal regulation, or state law.
Subp. 4.
Separate account for excluded
funds.
Funds excluded from consideration as an available resource by
subpart
2 or
3 must be placed in an
account separate from other funds to retain the exclusion. Upon application for
admission and redetermination of a maintenance charge, the facility financial
staff shall inform the person in writing of the requirement to place excluded
funds in a separate account.
Statutory Authority: MS s
198.003
