Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in Georgia

Maybe. Maybe not. You haven't told us what form of assistance and what assets the person has. Without that information there is no way to answer you.

We need more information. I assume that you are speaking of things like Medicaid stays in a nursing home. Each state has different financial requirements. A person, or if they are married, can retain a certain amount of assets and get Medicaid coverage for a stay in a nursing home, which can be quite expensive. The states mandate that Medicaid seek recovery from the estate of the deceased person. If they have a spouse (which you do not indicate) then perhaps the state will wait until the spouse dies. It also depends on the amount of money received - in certain cases, the recovery can be waived.

If we are discussing other types of benefits, I am not sure what you are talking about. Social Security is owned by the deceased, depending on when the person died. In some cses, the final check must be refunded.

Another misconception - property does not go to the government when someone dies. Property goes to the heirs named in the will, if there is one, and to the heirs as defined by intestacy law if there is no will. In only the extremely unlikely situation that there is nobody to inherit would property escheat to the government.

Whether the heirs get anything or not will depend on what assets the deceased owned and whether there is enough assets to pay any claims against the estate. If there are sufficient assets, everyone gets paid before the heirs. However, not all assets pass via probate. Some things, like life insurance proceeds pass entirely outside of probate. If there is not enough money, the the creditors, including Medicaid, get paid in the order of priority. Payments stop when all assets have been exhausted.

I suggest that the executor, or spouse/child if there is no will, get a probate attorney in the county/state in which the decdent resided at the time of his death (you do not tell us and I don't know if its in Georgia or not). If he or she lived in a nursing home, the county of residence might be where he/she owned real property. An attorney will be better able to see what assets exist and whether monies will have to be repaid in claims to the government or other entities.

If the person is not dead yet, then see an elder care or estate planning attorney. Some lawyers specialize in "Medicaid Planning" so that they can maximize the amount of assets a client will keep before they have to go into a nursing home. However, the time for planning is about 5 years BEFORE it is anticipated that a person will need Medicaid to cover a nursing home stay. The time for planning is just about over if grandma or grandpa has gone to the nursing home already. Just giving a way property is a no-no and may disqualify your loved one from receiving Medicaid if it is not done properly.