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West Virginia Income Maintenance Manual Chapter 24

West Virginia Income Maintenance Manual Page 70 Chapter 24 Long Term Care

24.8.3 HOMESTEAD PROPERTY EXCLUSION A nursing facility resident is entitled to an exclusion of his homestead as a countable asset as long as he has intent to return to his homestead when/if discharged. It is not necessary that the client be medically able to return home to apply the exclusion. It is totally based on the client’s intended actions, not whether he has the ability. The property to which the person intends to return must be the principal place of residence in which he resided before he went into the nursing facility. Principal place of residence is considered to be the person’s primary residence and is typically the address used on a driver’s license, for voting, and for tax purposes. If the client’s homestead is a multi-unit dwelling, such as an apartment building, the entire property is excluded, not just the portion of the value which corresponds to the portion of the property in which he actually lived. When the client does not have intent to return due to domestic abuse, see Section 5.5. The homestead property need not be in West Virginia. The homestead exclusion applies, regardless of the state in which it is located. The client’s expressed intent to return to the homestead property does not necessarily affect his West Virginia residency. See Chapter 2 for residency details. When the client’s spouse or dependent relative resides in the primary residence, the homestead property remains excluded, regardless of the client’s intent to return. For purposes of the homestead exclusion only, a dependent relative is one who is dependent financially, medically or as otherwise determined dependent upon the institutionalized person, and includes a child, stepchild or grandchild; parent, stepparent or grandparent; aunt, uncle, niece or nephew; brother or sister, including relations of the step or half, cousin or in-law. When the home is rented or vacant this has no bearing on the homestead exclusion, however, when the individual places his home on the market, intent to return no longer exists and home is not excluded. When the client is incapable of indicating his intent, his committee, legal representative or the person handling his financial matters will make the determination. The Worker must record the client’s statement or intent in the case record. A written statement may be requested but no action may be taken to deny or stop benefits for failure to provide a written statement when the client has expressed his intent verbally or by gesture.