My mother has passed away. She was receiving Medicaid benefits in a New York State nursing home. She left a will. She had $3,189 in a holding account permitted by Medicaid, approximately $3,928 in a bank account and a $1,000 life insurance policy. How much of this money can Medicaid claim? How much can our family keep? RS via e-mail Medicaid can assert a claim against the assets your mother left through her will, which presumably include her holding account and her bank account. The life insurance policy doesn't pass through her will, so you can keep it - assuming, of course, that you are the policy's named beneficiary. .