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MEDICAL SERVICES POLICY MANUAL, SECTION E

E 513 Determining Value of Ownership Interest

The market value of property often has little bearing on the market value of a “life estate” interest. 4. Dower/Curtesy a. Determine the current market value of the property. b. Find the line in the life estate tables (MS Appendix U) for the individual’s age at his or her last birthday. c. Multiply the figure beside the individual’s age in the life estate table by the current market value of the property. d. Divide the resulting amount by 3 to determine the value of the dower or curtesy interest. 5. Ownership Interest Held in Unprobated Estate An individual’s ownership interest in an unprobated estate is considered to be a resource. When the property cannot be excluded as income producing property and inclusion of it would make the individual’s resources exceed the countable resource limitations, ownership must be established. If ownership cannot be determined, the facts of the ownership interest will be submitted to the Medicaid Eligibility Unit for review by the Office of Chief Counsel (OCC) to obtain a legal opinion of the individual’s ownership share, if any (Re. MS E- 501). When the individual is determined to have an ownership interest in an unprobated estate, it will be necessary to determine its value through contact with a knowledgeable source. Knowledgeable sources include the following, shown in order of priority: • Real estate brokers; • Local office of the Farmer’s Home Administration (for rural land); • Local office of Agricultural Stabilization and Conservation Service (for rural land); • County Extension Services; • Banks, savings and loan associations;