MA-ABD Household Goods and Personal Effects

Household goods and personal effects are types of personal property. This section discusses how these types of assets are evaluated.

Household Goods

Household goods are items of personal property found in or near a home that a person uses on a regular basis. They include items needed by the household for maintenance, use, and occupancy of the premises as a home. Examples include pets, furniture, clothing, jewelry, appliances, children’s toys, tools and other equipment used in the home.

Household goods are an excluded asset and do not need to be verified. The exclusion for household goods does not include personal property that a person acquires or holds because of its monetary value or as an investment.

Personal Effects

Personal effects are items of personal property ordinarily worn or carried by the person, and articles otherwise having an intimate relation to the person. Personal effects include, but are not limited to, personal jewelry including wedding and engagement rings, personal care items, and educational or recreational items such as books or musical instruments.

Personal effects include:

Items of cultural or religious significance to a person, such as ceremonial attire
Items required because of a person’s physical or mental impairment, such as prosthetic devices or wheelchairs

Personal effects do not include personal property that a person acquires or holds because of its monetary value or as an investment.

Personal effects are an excluded asset and do not need to be verified.

Items Acquired or Held Because of Their Monetary Value or as Investments

Personal property that a person acquires or holds because of its monetary value or as an investment is a countable asset and not considered to be household goods or personal effects. Other personal property items include, but are not limited to, gems, jewelry, and collectibles acquired or held because of its monetary value or as an investment.

The equity of any item acquired or held because of its monetary value or as an available asset is counted.

A recent sales slip, an appraisal of the item, or insurance coverage can be used to verify the current market value of an item acquired or held because of its value or as an investment. If this information is not available, an estimate from a knowledgeable source, such as a local merchant, can be used to verify the current market value.

Insurance appraisals and amounts of insurance coverage often reflect replacement value (the amount it would cost to purchase a similar item new) rather than current market value. Replacement value may not be used in lieu of current market value.

Legal Citations

Minnesota Statutes, section 256B.056, subdivision 1a

CREDIT: The content of this post has been copied or adopted from the Minnesota Healthcare Programs Eligibility Policy Manual, originally published by the Minnesota Department of Human Services.

This is also part of a series of posts on Minnesota Healthcare Eligibility Policies.