Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in Alabama
estate property
Does the state get everything of a elderly person if they in up in a state run rest home?If yes,is there a 3 year period in which the property has to of been put in someone elses name prior to them entering the care of the state to prevent this?
2 Answers from Attorneys
Re: estate property
If an elderly person has been in the nursing home receiving Medicaid benefits, then Medicaid can put a lien against the person's estate for the amount of benefits Medicaid paid for the person. If that amount is less than the value of the estate, then the family or heirs keep the balance.
Medicaid currently has a 5 year lookback period that they use for determining benefit eligibility.
Re: estate property
It depends upon a number of factors such as whether the person is married or single, whether an adult child has lived with them and cared for them, whether they have a disabled child, what type of benefits they have received etc. It would be worth your time to talk with an elder law attorney about this.