NOVEMBER 14, 2016 VOLUME 23 NUMBER 43
Paul (that’s not his real name) needed long-term care. His health and his mental capability had both declined, and he could no longer handle his personal affairs nor take care of himself.
Paul’s assets included a car (titled in his and his daughter’s names) and three Bank of America (its real name) bank accounts. Those assets put him over the $2,000 eligibility limit for Arizona’s version of the federal/state Medicaid program, the Arizona Long Term Care System (ALTCS).
One problem: Paul’s daughter had her name on the bank accounts and on the car. She had the car in her possession, in fact — and she refused to turn it over.
Before he became incapacitated Paul had signed a power of attorney naming his sister as his agent. She went to Bank of America to get control of Paul’s accounts so she could use the money to pay for his care — and ultimately get him eligible for ALTCS coverage. That’s when she learned about a Bank of America rule: both signers on a joint account are permitted access the account, but an agent under a power of attorney may not exercise that authority on behalf of one owner without the other’s consent.
In other words, Paul’s sister could not close the account, remove Paul’s daughter’s name from the account, or even withdraw money to pay for his care — unless his daughter signed a form letting her do that. And Paul’s daughter refused to sign.
Paul’s sister applied for ALTCS coverage on his behalf. Even though he had assets over the $2,000 limit, she argued that those assets were actually unavailable. ALTCS regulations permit applicants to become eligible when assets are unavailable, and Paul’s sister argued that the situation with Paul’s bank accounts was no different from real estate owned jointly with an uncooperative family member, for instance.
ALTCS disagreed. The agency determined that Paul could get access to his own account if his sister just initiated a court proceeding — a conservatorship of his estate. Consequently, ALTCS declined to grant him eligibility.
Paul appealed (through his sister, of course). The court considering the agreed with her, and ordered ALTCS to cover Paul’s care costs. ALTCS appealed from that decision.
The Arizona Court of Appeals last week issued its opinion in the case. It agreed with the ALTCS agency, ruling that Paul could have access to the account by having his sister initiate a conservatorship. As conservator, reasoned the appellate court, she could then withdraw money from the account for Paul’s care — and that made the whole account a countable, available resource. Paul’s ALTCS eligibility was denied.
The Court of Appeals acknowledged that there would be some cost and difficulty getting access to Paul’s money. That, though, was not enough to prevent counting the asset as available. “Any practical inconvenience or accessibility difficulties are not relevant to determining whether assets are to be counted,” ruled the judges. McGovern v. AHCCCS, November 8, 2016.
The decision in Paul’s case simply fails to deal with the practical realities facing Paul and people in his circumstances. The opinion does not make clear how large the joint accounts might have been (except that they obviously exceed $2,000), but the practical reality is that a conservatorship proceeding might well cost thousands of dollars — and could cost even more if Paul’s daughter simply objected. She, after all, would have a higher priority for appointment as conservator than his sister, and her side of the story about the accounts is simply unmentioned in the appellate decision.
Even if Paul’s sister was appointed as conservator, that does not guarantee that she could get access to the accounts. Bank of America might well insist on getting the joint owners’ consent to close an account, or make other changes in the account structure. Paul’s daughter, when faced with the likelihood of losing the accounts, might actually close them out; she would not be hamstrung by the Bank of America rule about powers of attorney, after all.
And Paul’s vehicle? As joint owner, his daughter has absolute right to possess and use the vehicle. Getting it back for Paul, or forcing his daughter to buy out his interest, would almost certainly cost more than the value of the vehicle — and might not be successful even after significant expenditures.
The outcome is especially odd since ALTCS easily recognizes that joint ownership creates problems for other kinds of assets. Joint tenancy real estate, owned with a family member? No problem — eligibility can be granted (though it is described as “conditional” eligibility, requiring the ALTCS recipient to make efforts to sell their fractional interest). But bank accounts — even small accounts worth far less than a piece of real estate — are treated differently. Or at least the bank accounts in Paul’s case were treated differently.
Another irony: Paul had actually died before his case even got to the appellate level. The dispute was about whether ALTCS would have to pay for the care he had already received — and (though the opinion does not clarify this point) it is likely that his care facility is the one left without recourse, not his sister and not his daughter.
