Not all of your assets count against you when you apply for Georgia Medicaid nursing home benefits. Georgia Medicaid divides assets into two categories: countable and exempt. Understanding which assets are which determines how much you need to spend before Medicaid will cover your care — and what legal planning can protect.
Exempt Assets in Georgia Medicaid
Exempt assets are not counted toward Medicaid’s asset limit. They include:
Your Primary Home
Your home is exempt from Medicaid’s asset limit if you intend to return to it, your spouse lives there, or a dependent or disabled child lives there. However, the home exemption is limited. Georgia Medicaid can attempt to recover what it paid for your care from your home after your death through Medicaid Estate Recovery — unless the home was transferred into a properly structured trust before the lookback period.
One Vehicle
One car or truck is fully exempt, regardless of value.
Household Belongings and Personal Property
Furniture, clothing, jewelry, and other personal property in your home are exempt.
Prepaid Irrevocable Burial Arrangements
An irrevocable burial contract is exempt. This includes prepaid funeral expenses and burial plots.
Life Insurance with Low Cash Value
Term life insurance with no cash value is fully exempt. Whole life or universal life policies with a combined face value under $1,500 are exempt. Above that threshold, the cash value counts.
Assets for the Community Spouse
When one spouse is in a nursing home, the at-home spouse (called the community spouse) can keep certain assets. In 2026, the community spouse can keep between approximately $30,828 (minimum) and $154,140 (maximum) in countable assets. This is called the Community Spouse Resource Allowance (CSRA).
Countable Assets in Georgia Medicaid
Countable assets include everything not on the exempt list:
- Checking and savings accounts
- Money market accounts and CDs
- Investment and brokerage accounts
- Stocks, bonds, and mutual funds
- IRAs and 401(k)s (in most cases)
- Additional vehicles
- Rental property and vacation homes
- Cash value of life insurance over the threshold
For a single person, countable assets must be reduced to $2,000 before Medicaid eligibility begins.
Retirement Accounts and Medicaid
IRAs, 401(k)s, and other retirement accounts are treated differently depending on whether you are in payout status. If you are taking required minimum distributions, Georgia Medicaid may treat the account as income rather than an asset. If the account is not in payout status, it is typically counted as an asset.
Retirement account planning is one of the more nuanced areas of Medicaid eligibility — it is worth discussing with an elder law attorney before assuming your retirement accounts are protected or countable.
Can You Protect Assets Through Planning?
Yes. Legal planning can convert countable assets into exempt assets, or transfer countable assets into structures that are no longer counted — subject to the five-year lookback period.
Common strategies include:
- Medicaid Asset Protection Trust (MAPT): Transfers countable assets out of your estate. After five years, they are protected.
- Exempt asset repositioning: Paying off your mortgage, making home improvements, or purchasing an exempt vehicle using countable funds — all legal within limits.
- Spousal planning: Maximizing what the community spouse keeps through annuities or other strategies.
What About Gifts to Children?
Gifting assets to children before applying for Medicaid is not a safe strategy without guidance. The five-year lookback means any gift made within five years of your Medicaid application can be penalized. Even gifts that seemed reasonable at the time can trigger a period of ineligibility.
If protecting assets for your children is a priority, work with an elder law attorney to do it the right way — through a properly structured trust rather than informal gifts.
The Hive Law helps Georgia families understand their asset exposure and build a legal plan that protects as much as possible. If you want to know where you stand, start with a Family Protection Audit.