Spousal Refusal: Preserving Family Savings by "Just Saying No" to Long-Term Care Impoverishment

This is a case study of an elderly couple who executed a pre-nuptial agreement to keep their assets separated. When the husband required long-term care, the state required the assets of both to be considered in determining Medicaid eligibility. This article explores the effect and applicability of the Just Say No rule and the difficulty of preserving the assets of the non-institutionalized spouse.