Search Articles

Find Attorneys

"Will the State Take My Home?"

[This article was originally published on July 18, 2002.  The links were updated on June 15, 2018.]

"Will the State take my home if I go into a nursing home?" I am asked this question more than any other. Many people are concerned about Medicaid paying for their nursing facility care and state government coming in and taking their home away from them. What really happens is that benefits paid for by Medicaid on your behalf results in a debt to the Arkansas Department of Human Services (DHS). This debt can be claimed against your estate upon your death. DHS will not seek to recover the debt if it is too expensive for it to do so, or if it results in a hardship to your family.

Local Elder Law Attorneys in Your City

Elder Law Attorney

Firm Name
City, State

Elder Law Attorney

Firm Name
City, State

Elder Law Attorney

Firm Name
City, State

To better explain, the state does not take away your home to pay for your nursing home care. At least not while you are alive. If you are a Medicaid applicant, your home is exempt from consideration as an available asset when eligibility for Medicaid is determined. However, while you may exempt your home and thus be eligible for Medicaid payments during your lifetime, upon your death the house is no longer exempt. If you receive Medicaid benefits the Department of Human Services may attempt to recover the cost of your care after your death.

When you apply for Medicaid for nursing facility services, intermediate care facility services for the mentally retarded, or home and community based care services, the DHS county office will give you an estate recovery notice. The notice states in general that if you receive Medicaid for one of these services, the total amount of Medicaid benefits paid on your behalf will be a debt to DHS.

This debt may be recovered from your estate after your death. A claim will not be made against your property while you are living. DHS will collect the debt, if any, by filing a claim against your estate after your death. The amount of recovery is limited to the cost of services provided. Only the cost for those services received on or after August 15, 1993, can be recovered.

Upon your death, state law requires in most cases that the personal representative of your estate shall promptly mail to the creditors of your estate, including the Department of Human Services, a copy of the notice of their appointment. A copy of the petition for probate of your will or administration of your estate and your Social Security number shall be attached to the notice. Notice to DHS also includes notice of an affidavit for an estate of $50,000 or less. (This is basically a quick probate procedure for small estates.)

The Department of Human Services will then determine if any Medicaid benefits were paid. If so, a Notice of Estate Recovery will be mailed to your personal representative or distributee of your estate. A claim can then be filed against your estate.

The DHS will not seek recovery from your estate when:

  • it is not cost effective for it to do so;
  • there is a surviving spouse, dependent children under age 21, or blind or disabled children; or
  • recovery will create an undue hardship of other surviving family members.

DHS cannot seek recovery from another family member who is not legally responsible for your bills. This means that your son or daughter cannot be forced to pay your creditors out of their own pocket.

DHS cannot recover from property not included in your estate. Your "estate" under Arkansas law, with respect to a deceased individual, means all real and personal property owned by you at your death.

The personal representative or distributee of your estate may apply for a hardship waiver. Undue hardship has been defined by DHS as the following:

Undue hardship may exist when the estate''s asset is the sole asset of the survivors, the asset is their sole source of income, the income is not sufficient to meet their living expenses and also repay the debt to DHS, or there are other compelling circumstances such as the assets cannot be readily converted to cash.

To summarize, benefits paid for by Medicaid on your behalf results in a debt to the Department of Human Services. This debt can be claimed against your estate upon your death. DHS will not seek to recover the debt if it is too expensive for it to do so, or if it results in a hardship to your family.

Nothing in this article is intended to be taken as legal advice.

Copyright 2002 by Raymon B. Harvey, all rights reserved, may not be reproduced without express permission of the author

Raymon B. Harvey Attorney at Law
One Financial Centre
Little Rock, Arkansas
501-221-3416


Created date: 07/18/2002
Medicaid 101
What Medicaid Covers

In addition to nursing home care, Medicaid may cover home care and some care in an assisted living facility. Coverage in your state may depend on waivers of federal rules.

READ MORE
How to Qualify for Medicaid

To be eligible for Medicaid long-term care, recipients must have limited incomes and no more than $2,000 (in most states). Special rules apply for the home and other assets.

READ MORE
Medicaid’s Protections for Spouses

Spouses of Medicaid nursing home residents have special protections to keep them from becoming impoverished.

READ MORE
What Medicaid Covers

In addition to nursing home care, Medicaid may cover home care and some care in an assisted living facility. Coverage in your state may depend on waivers of federal rules.

READ MORE
How to Qualify for Medicaid

To be eligible for Medicaid long-term care, recipients must have limited incomes and no more than $2,000 (in most states). Special rules apply for the home and other assets.

READ MORE
Medicaid’s Protections for Spouses

Spouses of Medicaid nursing home residents have special protections to keep them from becoming impoverished.

READ MORE
Medicaid Planning Strategies

Careful planning for potentially devastating long-term care costs can help protect your estate, whether for your spouse or for your children.

READ MORE
Estate Recovery: Can Medicaid Take My House After I’m Gone?

If steps aren't taken to protect the Medicaid recipient's house from the state’s attempts to recover benefits paid, the house may need to be sold.

READ MORE
Help Qualifying and Paying for Medicaid, Or Avoiding Nursing Home Care

There are ways to handle excess income or assets and still qualify for Medicaid long-term care, and programs that deliver care at home rather than in a nursing home.

READ MORE
Are Adult Children Responsible for Their Parents’ Care?

Most states have laws on the books making adult children responsible if their parents can't afford to take care of themselves.

READ MORE
Applying for Medicaid

Applying for Medicaid is a highly technical and complex process, and bad advice can actually make it more difficult to qualify for benefits.

READ MORE
Alternatives to Medicaid

Medicare's coverage of nursing home care is quite limited. For those who can afford it and who can qualify for coverage, long-term care insurance is the best alternative to Medicaid.

READ MORE
ElderLaw 101
Estate Planning

Distinguish the key concepts in estate planning, including the will, the trust, probate, the power of attorney, and how to avoid estate taxes.

READ MORE
Grandchildren

Learn about grandparents’ visitation rights and how to avoid tax and public benefit issues when making gifts to grandchildren.

READ MORE
Guardianship/Conservatorship

Understand when and how a court appoints a guardian or conservator for an adult who becomes incapacitated, and how to avoid guardianship.

READ MORE
Health Care Decisions

We need to plan for the possibility that we will become unable to make our own medical decisions. This may take the form of a health care proxy, a medical directive, a living will, or a combination of these.

READ MORE
Estate Planning

Distinguish the key concepts in estate planning, including the will, the trust, probate, the power of attorney, and how to avoid estate taxes.

READ MORE
Grandchildren

Learn about grandparents’ visitation rights and how to avoid tax and public benefit issues when making gifts to grandchildren.

READ MORE
Guardianship/Conservatorship

Understand when and how a court appoints a guardian or conservator for an adult who becomes incapacitated, and how to avoid guardianship.

READ MORE
Health Care Decisions

We need to plan for the possibility that we will become unable to make our own medical decisions. This may take the form of a health care proxy, a medical directive, a living will, or a combination of these.

READ MORE
Long-Term Care Insurance

Understand the ins and outs of insurance to cover the high cost of nursing home care, including when to buy it, how much to buy, and which spouse should get the coverage.

READ MORE
Medicare

Learn who qualifies for Medicare, what the program covers, all about Medicare Advantage, and how to supplement Medicare’s coverage.

READ MORE
Retirement Planning

We explain the five phases of retirement planning, the difference between a 401(k) and an IRA, types of investments, asset diversification, the required minimum distribution rules, and more.

READ MORE
Senior Living

Find out how to choose a nursing home or assisted living facility, when to fight a discharge, the rights of nursing home residents, all about reverse mortgages, and more.

READ MORE
Social Security

Get a solid grounding in Social Security, including who is eligible, how to apply, spousal benefits, the taxation of benefits, how work affects payments, and SSDI and SSI.

READ MORE
Special Needs Planning

Learn how a special needs trust can preserve assets for a person with disabilities without jeopardizing Medicaid and SSI, and how to plan for when caregivers are gone.

READ MORE
Veterans Benefits

Explore benefits for older veterans, including the VA’s disability pension benefit, aid and attendance, and long-term care coverage for veterans and surviving spouses.

READ MORE