My mom just got accepted for Medicaid while in the nursing home. My dad is home. I have DPOA over both of them, and both their Last Will which states I am to receive their home. Can the nursing home take their home if anything happens to my dad, because I'm not living in the house. I help take care of them, and make sure their bills get paid from long distance.
https://aspe.hhs.gov/basic-report/medicaid-treatment-home-determining-eligibility-and-repayment-long-term-care
"Although the home generally remains an exempt asset while the Medicaid recipient is still living, it becomes a countable, or recoverable, asset after the recipient dies. In other words, states have the right to recoup Medicaid-financed long-term care costs incurred on behalf of the recipient from the equity interest in the individual's home upon death, along with any other assets in the estate. States recoup these costs through the administrative vehicle of estate recovery programs. In these cases, the recipients heirs must pay off Medicaid's claim in order to receive a clear title to the property. Heirs who lack the means to settle the Medicaid claim may either obtain a loan or mortgage to keep the home in the family or sell the property and use proceeds of the sale to reimburse Medicaid for expenses paid on behalf of the recipient."
Once your dad leaves the home or dies, the home becomes an asset that can be counted against Medicaid eligibility. States differ in their rules. Assets owned by Medicaid recipients are expected to go towards the Medicaid costs. Presumably you knew that: when the state pays nursing home bills, the state will recover those costs from all assets, after the owner dies or no longer lives in the home.
So no, the nursing home can't take the home. But the government will require repayment of Medicaid bills from the estate.
some states have preset hardship exemptions based on property value, like if under 65k, then MERP waived. Others have it at 100k.
some states do not attempt recovery at all if community spouse living in the home; others do after death of the community spouse.
some states allow for a predeath lien placed (tifra); other states do not, it’s all post death lien and can become a claim against the estate if probate is opened.
If probate opened, then probate laws factor in, especially for now claims are done. So what’s in a will matters for those who open probate. If there is a Testamentary Trust, how thats worded matters. If your State is a Level of Claim by Class, just where MERP fits for class matters. Like for TX MERP is a class 7 so Class 1- 6 are priority before Class 7; credit cards are Class 8. Some states allow probate to remain open for quite a long period.
To find out just how MERP rolls, you need to meet with attorneys who do both elder law and probate with an understanding of Medicaid rules for your state.
Also give a bit of thought as to if Dad in the future needed himself to go into a facility on Medicaid, could you have the time & wallet to pay the whatevers on the now empty property for an undetermined period of time? Like for when he’s in the NH and then after he & mom both die? And then deal with MERP for however long that might take? A property that costs 25k a yr in cost maybe manageable while one at 50k isn’t.
If your elder wants to keep their old homestead, family can do it for them if family have the time, wallet and sense of humor to make it happen. But it runs a risk of not working out, like for not being affordable over time OR that the hoped for MERP exclusions, exemptions or cost/ benefit doesn’t work; OR that it falls to 1 person to do and pay for everything house even tho’ all would share equally as per the Will and that person is over the old place; or probate issues, like the Executor structures distribution not exactly as you would have liked.
The NH doesn’t want their home. NH wants to get paid for their stay, whether it’s via Medicaid or private pay.
My Dad passed before my Mom. The house reverted to Mom. Mom was on Medicaid. Upon her death I received recovery paperwork so a lean could be placed on the house. One of the questions was "does a family member reside in the house and if so, is this their main residence" It went on to say that the person can continue to reside there, but a lean will be put on the house. If the resident should sell, leave or pass away, the lean will need to be satisfied.
So, now that a parent is on Medicaid you will never truly "own" the house unless u personally pay off the lean.
Every situation is different as is every state. Moms house did not sell while she was alive. I excepted a price that would pay the back taxes and the Medicaid lean. The beneficiaries received very little.
Right now, in most states, the house is considered a protected asset by Medicaid as long as your dad lives there or can expect that he will return there after a stint in a hospital or rehab.
The money Medicaid is sending to the nursing home for your mother is money they will try to recover from her estate after she dies. Even then, though, your father will not be forced to sell if he still wants to live in the house.
Depending on how much Medicaid ends up paying for your mom, the estate might not need to sell the house to pay them back. However, I wouldn't count on inheriting the house. It's likely the largest asset your parents have if she has qualified for Medicaid.
A lawyer will be able to explain how this works.