Daytona Beach Senior AdvisorWhat options do couples have?
Adding home care so both stay home, moving together into assisted living with one spouse receiving more care, moving into a continuing care community, or the spouse needing care moving to a memory care or nursing setting while the other stays home.
Many ALFs accept couples in one apartment and charge a second-person fee. Ask how care levels are billed when only one spouse needs help.
Can both spouses live in the same facility if needs differ?
Often yes in assisted living, as long as each meets admission criteria; when one needs secured memory care or nursing care, some campuses keep couples nearby in different wings or buildings.
Large buildings with memory care wings are found along the coast and in DeLand; small homes rarely have room for two different levels of care.
How does Medicaid protect the healthy spouse?
Under DCF's April 2026 standards the spouse at home can keep up to $162,660 in countable assets, usually the home and a car, and receive part of the applicant's income to reach at least $2,644 a month, up to $4,067 with high shelter costs.
| DCF figure (April 2026) | Amount |
|---|---|
| Monthly income limit, single applicant | $2,982 |
| Countable asset limit, single applicant | $2,000 |
| Personal needs allowance in a nursing home | $160 |
| Community spouse resource allowance (CSRA) | $162,660 |
| Minimum monthly maintenance needs allowance (MMMNA) | $2,644 |
| Maximum community spouse income allowance | $4,067 |
| Home equity cap | $752,000 |
| Divisor for transfer penalties | $10,645 |
Source: Florida DCF transmittal I-26-02-0003 (Feb. 24, 2026), Appendix A-7, SSI-Related Medicaid Financial Eligibility Standards, April 2026.
What about the healthy spouse's own wellbeing?
The healthy spouse needs respite, their own medical care and a role that is not only caregiver; caregiver support programs through ElderSource and a care plan that shares the load protect both people.
When the healthy spouse is the one struggling, the plan has to change, whatever the other spouse prefers.
Who can help a couple plan?
ElderSource (1-888-242-4464) for services and Medicaid screening, an elder law attorney for the spousal allowances and the home, and a senior advisor to find buildings that accept couples with different care levels.
Start before a crisis forces a separation; couples who plan ahead have more choices about staying together.
At a glance
| A couple's plan should cover | A couple's plan often forgets | |
|---|---|---|
| Care | What each spouse needs now and soon | Planning only for the sicker spouse |
| Money | Medicaid spousal allowances | The healthy spouse's income after a move |
| Health | Respite for the caregiving spouse | The caregiver's own appointments |
Sources: Chapters 408, 429 and 651, Florida Statutes; Florida Administrative Code chapters 59A-36 and 65A-2; publications of AHCA, DCF, OIR and the Department of Elder Affairs; and the CareScout and VA tables named on the page. See our editorial standards for how figures are checked.
