Use a five-year transfer and spouse-protection timeline
Delaware reviews 60 months of transfers for the modern long-term-care transfer rule. In 2026 its published statewide monthly private-pay nursing-facility amount is $13,378.33, the figure DMMA directs staff to use in calculating an ineligibility period for applications filed on or after January 1, 2026 (Delaware transfer policy; DMMA 2026 transfer divisor).
When one spouse remains at home, Delaware’s 2026 Community Spouse Resource Allowance range is $32,532 to $162,660 and its maximum monthly maintenance-needs allowance is $4,066.50. The couple’s assessment date, ownership, and countability determine the actual protected amount, so resources should not be retitled or spent without completing the proper assessment (DMMA 2026 spousal standards).
Deeds, recovery, and a Delaware family-support rule
Delaware’s new TOD deed statute expressly preserves public-assistance eligibility during the transferor’s life, but it does not assure a post-death Medicaid result. Delaware recovery policy defines estate by reference to probate law, and the TOD Act permits an estate to enforce an allowed claim against TOD property where the probate estate is insufficient; therefore, a deed or trust needs both lifetime transfer and death-time claim analysis (Delaware TOD deed Act; Delaware estate-recovery policy).
Delaware also retains a family-support provision: except where the statute otherwise provides, the duty to support a poor person unable to support themself rests on the spouse, parents, or children in that order, subject to the statute’s qualifications. This is a family-law provision, not an automatic nursing-home invoice, but it is a Delaware-specific issue that merits legal advice when family support or reimbursement is at issue (Delaware Code, Title 13 support duties).
Delaware planning sequence: identify the care route, test income and Miller Trust needs, complete a spouse assessment if applicable, preserve 60 months of records, and obtain advice before a gift, trust funding, or title change (
Delaware transfer and recovery policy).
See Advance Medicaid Planning for the broader framework. Delaware-specific attorney advice is important because the sequence and documentation can matter as much as the dollar amount.
Not mutually exclusive. Most families combine two or three funding pillars — this one rarely stands alone.
The
Journey Assessment ranks all ten pillars against your specific situation and
recommends the top three.
