Will Medicaid estate recovery take away my house?

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Will Medicaid estate recovery take away my house?

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Hi Dear,

10 years ago, my parent transfer the house to me through a quitdeed claim (it was recorded), I am paying all taxes and fees these years. Later they were qualified and went into medicaid program.

In this case, will medicaid estate recovery program take away my house medical, will medical recovery program take away my house after my parent pass away?

Appreciate your information.
Dave

Asset Protection End of Life Financial Planning Medicaid

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My understanding is that as long as the home was transferred 5 or more years ago, they cannot pursue the house. Check with a probate attorney to verify this, but I am fairly certain this is still the case.

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I was a care giver back in the late 80 the case manager had us get our things out. the electronics and jewelry had been pawned and redeemed and repawned in the names of the caregivers. THE PAWN TICKETS PROVED OWNERSHIP. They called Salvation Army to clear the apartment. nothing of value was in the name of the DSHS / Medicaid client. Now that I am disabled I have made the same arrangements. When our mother passed in a lockdown unit all that happened was "GET HER STUFF OUT OF HERE" The facility tried to collect rent ''FOR STORAGE'' and got nothing. My durable power of attorney at times has crossed out the clause each year then signed the new care plan and plan of action after the case manager had already signed the contract for the new year.

Our family has never had our belongings or homes claimed but then again everything is not in the name of the client.

I hope this helps--in the case of the pawn it does not need to be there full term--The Id of the pawer proves ownership.

Andy retired CMA /CNA
Oregon and Washington and Colorado

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I have been working on qualifying my husband for Medicaid and the only thing they can count as his assets have to be in his name. This includes bank accounts, investments that have to add up to less than $10,000. They did not include our house. I kept his name on checking account only for automatic social security deposits, and moved all to my savings account.

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davoti: Perhaps you should retain an elder law attorney.

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Quitclaim deeds are often or best used in cases like yours where a family member is passing ownership to another family member with out an actual sale. Either your parents acquired the house the same way or purchased it in which case there should have been a title search done, especially if there was a mortgage involved and as long as you know about all transfers done after the last title search you are fine. Beside that this is only pertinent to when and if you sell the property and doesn’t have anything to do with your parents Medicaid status. The only thing that could affect that is the timing and if they are on Medicaid now and weren’t yet at the time the ownership was transferred they would have been made aware of possible clawback should the house be sold. It’s been 10 years now and if there aren’t any liens on the house (you can check that at the town hall) you are probably clear. Consulting a local attorney is always a good idea though and if one was involved in the Quitclaim process that’s who I would start with. Whatever the case though Medicaid won’t “take your house away” or force a sale the only thing they might do is place a lien on it for say 2 years of expenses if the look back in your state is 5 years and only 3 had passed since it was transferred when your parents applied for Medicaid and still only if and when you sell it.

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Please consult with an Elder Law Attorney in your area. (Just a thought here, once Mom gave you a quit claim deed, you could have sold your home and your question wouldn't even need to be addressed). Now, that makes me wonder if that is a way to deal with Medicaid when someone only has 4 years, or less, as the new owner................yes, get legal advice.

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ConnieCaretaker, Your answer is the BEST ANSWER she could get. I'm currently working with Elder Lawyers, and what I didn't even consider has been overwhelming. Thanks to the Legal team, which includes a CPA to assist with asset distribution, they are helping me with all of the Federal and State requirements.

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Just to be on the safe side, imo the OP needs a Real Estate attorney.

Quit Claim Deed involves property and real estate laws. By its nature, it is not elder law work. An elder law practice that has a Real Estate attorney affiliated within the practice is what imo you’d want to look for.
R.E. attorney would make sure the chain of title, the conveyance, etc has no issues, & review whatever recorded at the courthouse & if the title was not actually changed a decade ago do whatever now to do that IF that is what is best for how LTC now runs for CA Medicaid (& it’s pretty dramatic changes), and this is where the elder law side of the practice comes into play with their expertise.

If the parents are still alive (I’m guessing that they are), and this is a clusterF as they DIYd it, the attorneys may be able to unthread it as the folks are still around to sign new documents.

On exemptions, we don’t know if the OP had been a full time caregiver living in the home prior to either of the parents entering a NH for the parents for 2 years. So living there with no other job. That would be needed to be able to be eligible for an exemption to MERP estate recovery.
OPs paying taxes, insurance on their parents property is of no concern to Medicaid. If the parents still had a mortgage and OP paid it, Medicaid wouldn’t care about that either. Medicaid is only concerned on the elders income and assets and Medicaid could care less on elders debts and how those get paid. Families get zero credit from Medicaid on paying for stuff. Now if you take this to beyond the grave, then you can file these costs as claims against the Estate in probate. Although based on the posts on this site over the years, most families / heirs don’t have the ability to pay or sense of humor to deal with an elders property for years and years with uncertainty of ownership and then open probate or wait for them to die to move on the Life Estate or Lady Bird Deed.

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A quit deed means it belongs to the daughter been there done that before an ex husband with post traumatic stress went on disability. The parents no longer own it.

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no you did it before 5 yrs when they entered medicade for help.

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It really depends. My aunt did a quick claim deed and put it in her childrens names. But she also had a life estate on the property. So as long as she was living she could continue to live in it. She has dementia and is in a nursing home. So it wiped out the quick claim deed. As far as they are concerned she could still be living in it with in home help. It’s such a mess! You need to speak to an Attorney.

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Weird because my dads life estate is a deed and a quit deed is a deed. It does not make sense they had both. Because one should wipe out the other.

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They can only go back so many years. You should not have a problem with the house.

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CA has a 30-month lookback period.

See an attorney about this real estate asset but hope it is not a problem because you live in it. You have cared for your parent for at least 10 years and should not get thrown out. However, a Medicaid lien may be placed on the property from your parent's care costs.

My mom and I bought our condo back in 1991 together. My name on title protected my shelter when she had to go to a facility in CA, then later moved to OR near my brother before her funds ran out in 2013 when she suffered too many falls. I still live in the condo with Mom's inherited her half of the estate. However, a $9,270 promissory note is held against the property and is not payable until I die, sell it or be moved out permanently. My remote family has been very generous to keep me in my residence and sending gift money since my only substantial income is SSA benefits. No outstanding mortgage exists, which helps me afford my place!

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There is a five look back window. You should be safe however, call an elder care attorney.

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You are safe. You were given the house over 5 years ago. Give them a copy of the quick claim. Any gunds in their account will be taken to reimburse for monies spent. With my folks there wasn't much but I was happy to give it to them because we never could have afforded everything they needed.

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Quit claim not quick! LOL

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I agree that a certified eldercare attorney is what you need right now. They aren’t cheap, but are worth every dime.

You should be safe if YOU are the only person on the deed of the house in question for more than 5 years. As others have stated, each state has different rules about the the look-back period, so yours might be different.

But on a happy note, if your parents are eligible for Medicaid, they are among the lucky few because the wait list for Medicaid is loooooong. Not everyone who needs it can get it.

Good luck.

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Short answer, probably. A quick claim deed does not mean your name is on the title of the house, which would have to be the case in order for it not to be considered in the parents assets. The parents are on the title of the house now, it is their asset. So if Medicaid recovery is needed, yes the house will be part of that, whether or not you have been paying bills on it or not.

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I disagree with this. My dad had a life estate deed. Per the probate court the house became my brothers and mine the day he died and is not considered an asset of my dads.

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As others have stated, you really need to speak to a certified elder care/estate attorney. Not all attorneys have this type of experience and may give good advice, but it may not be the best advice for your individual situation.. Anything you read here are only opinions and it would be better to pay up front to get the correct answer instead of finding out later there was something that could have been done. Those on this board are from all states and some are international so you need someone who is licensed to practice law in your local state. Another issue is laws change and that too could affect why your case may be different from someone here that says their case is just like yours.

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I have the same ? as JoAnn, so when QCD recorded was a secondary action done in which title on the property changed?
OR
did they only file QCD as an document onto the property? Like file it as an attachment onto the property’s PPIN like what the county would file if they did a 3’ egress on the west side of property line for new sidewalks type of filing. So they did a QCD but did not actually legally change title to you so they could keep all their over age 65 & homestead exemption perks?
In whose names are tax assessor / collector bills? You pay them but whose name(s) are on the bill?
Who holds a homestead exemption(s)?

Out of curiosity, did your parents own the property via a Warranty Deed and have a Release of Deed of Trust on file at the courthouse at the time they did that QCD to you?

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Are you the only one on the deed? Do the tax bills have just your name, if so, the house is yours.

But 97 makes a good point, when did your parents enter the NH. Most States have a *5 year look back and any transactions transferring assets in that time frame are null and void. So if parents went into care after 5 years after the date of quitclaim, your probably safe.

*I think Cal its 3 years. We have other Californians on the forum so they will confirm if I am right or wrong. Also, Medicaid is MediCal in ur State and I think the asset limit is different than other States. And that is why you need to talk to an elder lawyer because States differ in their laws.

A question...was the house listed as an asset on the application when MediCal was applied for? If you own it, it should not have been.

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The problem right on the surface with your situation or area of ambiguity is how many years later did they go into gov provided care after deeding you the property?

What were the laws in Ca at that time regarding assets belonging to the ones seeking aide for care?
Then, was the document created as required by the state of Ca., were the grantors named and competent, was the grantee named etc etc?

I read that quit claim deeds are more valid than they once were but there are rules and regulations that must be followed for good reason for the protection of all.

Just a personal quirk of mine, the name of the document indicates that the person signing is conveying his or her claim to the property (and that may be all that is needed). But I always wonder… Are there others who could have a claim such as extended family?

Someone who has the education and experience in these matters and has all the pertinent personal data made available to them could probably alert you to any red flags. That is usually an attorney with the needed background, not just any attorney.

An abstractor or title office could sell you an abstract of title but their expertise is in letting you know what has already happened (been filed) regarding a property, what the history is.

You are wanting to know the future.

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97, your concerns very much I share. Quit Claim Deeds by their nature are fraught with problems as they do not guarantee clear title; they are what the individual(s) signing QCD document considers themselves to be able to be assigning 100% transfer of. Only a Warranty Deed guarantees clear title.

There was a real trend on QCD maybe 15? not quite 20 years ago. It was after Hurricane Katrina which is 1 of my big lodestars for time as a lot of folks did QCD on post Katrina property & I did outreach postKatrina. Basically QCD proved to be a bad bad idea b/c property very often had generational heirs so that 1 that signed did NOT have the ability to sign off fully (even though only they lived there seemingly forever to the point they had homestead exemption); OR - this was more sticky - as QCD could not guarantee clear title, they could not easily qualify for lending programs or outright grants or easily sell the property. To get around the unclear title, they would need to get a Quiet Title Action Done. (As in quieting any complaints). Quiet is a kinda like what a title company does in property search history but add to it series of Notices placed in publications wherever old owners now seem to,live or where past tax bill sent lived (kind like what is done for Notices to Creditors for probate) to actively seek out any owners. A title company can’t do Quite Title Action, it has to be done by an attorney, usually a Real Estate attorney. Should anyone come forward, QCD is challenged. During the postKatrina world, none of this could be done in a timely manner so those holding QCDs pretty much got shut out of SBA $, RoadHome $, MDA 150K grant $. And it was hard to sell the property or get $ to renovate as no clear clean title as they had a QCD, as banks would take a hard pass. A big reason why even now you see areas still blighted and untouched in parts of coastal LA & MS. It was a real learning experience for me. Folks were under the impression they could DIY a property transfer via QCD pulled off the web for free so no need to pay for an attorney or title company or Realtor or other experienced professional. & maybe they can but if it goes wrong it’s a costly mistake that bogs down in time & $ to reset.

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I agree with Mac. See an elder law attorney. If this house was transferred 10 years ago it MAY be yours, with no claims of your mother's estate relevant to it if her name is not on the deed. However, this is something you need to find out for certain, as you are talking your home, and the value of it. You should see a Trust and Estate or Elder Law Attorney. When you make the appointment explain that you have a few simple questions you need answered and would like an hour of time. Good luck.

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Medicaid will probably put a lien on the house if it qualifies as part of the recovery. They are not in the real estate business, so will not actually "take" your house. You need advice from an attorrney to know what to expect.

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True. Recovery looks at the 'leftovers' that are divided up with probate. They file claim as a debt owed so they can get their cut before remainder money is distributed to all the heirs in will or in the probate process if no will

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You need to speak to an elder law attorney because each state is different. If her name is still on the title, then it may be a problem. You can go to your town hall to pull the file by address and take a look.
As an aside, by paying taxes and upkeep, I will assume that you have been paying quite a lot less than renting a place. I hope you have been a saver.

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Will Medicaid estate recovery take away my house?

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