Will Texas Medicaid Take Parents House After They Pass Away?

by Kim
(Texas )

My mother has been on special medicaid for about 2 years after being diagnosed with breast cancer. She has been so sure that the state is going to take her and my fathers property when they are gone but I keep researching the issue and I am confused myself. Will the state of Texas take my parents home and property (roughly valued at $60,000) in the event of their deaths and if so, what can we do to prevent this?

I don't know if you need this info to help but my mom is only 55 and my dad is 68.

Thank you so much for your time,

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Apr 19, 2010
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Texas Medicaid Rules
by: Gabriel Heiser

Under federal law and that of most states, once a person dies who had Medicaid coverage in the nursing home, the state must attempt to recoup every dollar it spent paying for the deceased person's nursing home care. At a minimum, the state must file a claim against the deceased person's "probate estate," i.e., assets titled in the sole name of the deceased person. A few states can also go after joint assets, life estates, etc., in which the deceased Medicaid recipient had a legal interest.

Thus, assuming your father never needs Medicaid coverage, it is important to transfer all of your mother's interest in the house to your father. Then, if he survives your mother, the state will be out of luck, since your mother will not own any part of the house upon her death.

If your father predeceases your mother, it gets more complicated: he won't be able simply to bypass your mother by leaving the entire interest in the house to his children, because by law your mother would be entitled to a percentage of his estate. If all passes to the children, then it's deemed a gift from your mother to the children, causing her to be disqualified from Medicaid for some period of time. As you see, it starts to get very complicated; now you see why I devote an entire chapter of my book to dealing with how to protect the house!

You can find my book at Medicaid Secrets.

Of course, you must verify the current state of Texas Medicaid rules before making such a transfer, since I am not a Texas attorney and can't provide you with legal advice.

Good luck with everything!

Apr 19, 2010
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more questions
by: Kim

Does this only happen when a person has been in a nursing home? My mother has never been, and hopefully won't ever be, in one. The Medicaid was only to pay for her cancer treatment.

Aug 24, 2011
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This should answer your question
by: Mo Johnson

Hi Kim,

These articles should answer your question. Let me know if not. Thanks.

What Happens to my Home if I go on Medicaid?

Medicaid Estate Recovery Rules

Medicaid Estate Recovery Planning

Oct 15, 2015
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Medicaid can and will take your house regardless
by: Anonymous

My Grandfather passed away approximately a month and a half ago leaving behind my Grandmother, my Father, Aunts and Uncles...and some property. One of those properties, is my Dad's. Although it is in the Grandparents' name, my Father wrote all the checks to pay for it. Which is on file at the bank. My Grandmother just got a notice for seizure of this property. My Grandfather was NEVER in a nursing home... I am beyond heartbroken and angry. And finding information on this issue is almost impossible, I have noticed. Hope no one else has to go through what we are. But looks to me like this is going to be common practice for our Gov.

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--by Beth Heikkinen
Marquette, Michigan

I just want to thank you for this site. It answered my questions. I think many people that do research on the net take it for granted and when they find what they are looking for they forget "someone put time, money, etc into providing me with this information."

Thank you!

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