Case Update: Promissory Note is Not Excludable if it is Not Held By Applicant

When Vivian Montgomery went into a nursing home, her husband purchased a promissory note for $50,000. Ms. Montgomery applied for Medicaid, and they approved her application, but they imposed a penalty period because they found the promissory note to be an available resource.

Ms. Montgomery died before the hearing she was granted. The trial court affirmed Medicaid’s decision. Ms. Montgomery’s estate appealed, arguing that the promissory note was an excludable asset because it was a part of the couple’s resources.

In Estate of Montgomery v. Ohio Department of Job and Family Services, the court held that the promissory note was not excludable because it was held by the community spouse instead of the applicant.

See Community Spouse’s Promissory Note Is a Countable Resource, ElderLawAnswers, Feb. 17, 2012; see also Estate of Montgomery v. Ohio Department of Job and Family Services (Ohio Ct. App., 5^th Dist., No. 11 CAH 06 0054, Feb. 14, 2012).