Legal Question in Elder Law in California

Re: Quitclaim home to get MediCal?

When determining the assets of someone for eligability to receive MediCal benefits, certain assets are exempt from being used to determine qualifications. One is the person's primary residence.

If the house is in a living trust, your wife is the trustee, not the executrix.

If your mother-in-law goes into a nursing home using MediCal benefits, they obtain a lien on the property, and can sell it when she is deceased. There are some ways to avoid this result, but to give them to you here would not be wise, because I don't know your overall situation.

You should probably sit down with an attorney who handles this kind of situation. Give me a call if I can help.

Re: Quitclaim home to get MediCal?

You can protect the house, most likely, but not in the way you describe. It's a bit complicated, so it should be handled by an attorney knowledgeable about Medi-Cal regulations.

She can qualify for Medi-Cal even while owning the house--it's exempt, but unless you do more to protect the home, Medi-Cal can recover against it when your mother-in-law passes away.