Sick Father

Susan, your father can transfer the house to his relatives.

Department of Social Services (DSS) will give your father the opportunity to transfer his property before a lien is placed over it. He will be given reasonable amount of time to transfer his property which normally is 90 days and can be more if necessary.

Please read more about medicaid lien can be placed on property from this page : http://www.nls.org/medicaid/malien.htm

Hi Susan,

There is no problem if your father quitclaims the house to any of his children. In that case, even if the Medicaid places a lien on the house, it does not affect the ownership of the property. It will also not affect the medical benefits that are available to the Medicaid recipient that is your father.

And before placing a lien, the Medicaid program must notify your father or you and should also inform you to attend any hearing in the court concerning the lien process. You will have to pay the lien only at the time of selling or transferring the house in future.

my father will be refinancing is home so that I can pay-off my debts, since I can't quality for a loan on his property. he also wants to quitclaim from the property. will the bank allow a quitclaim since the loan will be in his name? Also, if the loan is in his name can he continue to qualify for medicare/medical, and can medicare come after the property after he quitclaims to his children? Thankyou

Hi guest,

Welcome to the forums.

The bank may not allow for a quitclaim unless you refinance the loan in your name. At times, any such transfer of property makes the loan due.

"Also, if the loan is in his name can he continue to qualify for medicare/medical, and can medicare come after the property after he quitclaims to his children?"
Medical cannot come after the property before the person taking the assistance passes away. However, if your father applies for Medicaid after quitclaiming property, then he may be ineligible for the assistance due to Medicaid look back period.

Take care

I was reading about Medicare liens on your website. My father has just passed away. He has lived in his parents house for decades. My cousin is the executor of the will but each of the 9 grandchildren were supposed to recive 1/9 of home sales. My cousin claims there is a medicare lien from my grandfather being in a nursing home. If your website is correct, there cannot be since my father (a son) lived there and helped his parents for over two years before he went to the nursing home. Am I reading it correctly?

Hi Kathy in NJ

As far as I know, if your father lived in the house for at least two years before your grandfather entered a medical facility and your father provided care for him which allowed your grandfather to live at home rather than enter an institution, then the Medicaid cannot place lien on the property. I think you should better consult an attorney and take his/her opinion on this.

Thanks

Thanks for your response. Do you know how I could find out if Medicaid has placed a lien? I tried the county court house, but they said they would only have record of tax liens and things of that nature.

I forgot to mention...My dad had no insurance so I had to pay for all of the final expenses, so paying a lawyer is really not an option right now.

Hi Kathy,

A title search company may help you in finding out whether there is a medicaid lien on the property or not.

He will have a chance to sign the house over to a relative or family member before they can put a lien on it.

My father recently passed away. He was drawing social security and on medicare for about 5 years. He lived in his own home with his brother. Because he was terminal he was ineligible for life insurance. My sister & I paid for his burial and our uncle remains in the home. We are afraid to probate the will to transfer the property(house & 2 older cars) because we were told that Medicare may try to take the house to seek repayment. Can they do this? He was never in a nursing home. He & my uncle handled his care at home or through the dialysis clinic. He died in the hospital after 5 weeks.

If he has taken medicare benefits, then medicaid has the right to take away the property in order to recover the payments.

you have mentioned that he haven't used the nursing home facility so he won't be liable for the purpose of the lien on his home.

I think they ( medicaid officer ) will not be coming after the property.

My brother and mother both owned a home together. My brother took a sizeable mortgage against the home having my mother who was 74 at the time sign the loan giving him her half of the house upon her death. The bank would not give the loan to my bother unless their was a survivorship clause put in the mortgage. My mom recently past away and the house went to my brother. This was not my mothers wishes as she told me just months before her death that her half of the house will be split between her three children. My mom was blind but did sign the papers. Anyway, she was on medicaid. She was not in a nursing home. Will medicaid put a lien on the house for reimbursement of her medical cost that medicaid paid for? She lived in her home by herself.

Hi highlights,

Yes, there are chances that Medicaid would put a lien on the house for reimbursement of her medical cost that medicaid paid for.

Thanks