Medicare has a 7-year lookback on divorces and medical expenses. My aunt, upon realizing this, informed her 10-years-older husband that they should get divorced, not because she didn't love him, but as a tenured professor who was putting a lap pool in their basement she just didn't see any ability to maintain her lifestyle and his health. He'd committed suicide within eighteen months and for the past three years she's been loudly professing her uninvolvement in his decision like Lady Macbeth and the blood. I recognize this isn't good news - it's "you're exactly as fucked as you think you are, no more, no worse" news. On the other hand, you and yours should be aware of Medicaid estate recovery, which has a nasty habit of surprising people who have better things to worry about, like sick and dying relatives. Estate recovery rules vary by state. Louisiana is predatory but it's one of the few cases where poverty is to your advantage.