About this article: This is general educational information. Massingill does not offer Medicaid eligibility planning, Qualified Income Trust or Miller trust services, or Medicaid estate recovery planning. For advice on these issues, consult an attorney who practices Medicaid and elder law. Massingill does not prepare or file tax returns.
Families often ask whether receiving Medicaid means losing a home. There is no universal answer: eligibility during life, recovery after death, and transfer of title are different questions. A deed or trust should not be presented as a guaranteed solution.
Separate eligibility from estate recovery
An asset’s treatment in an eligibility review does not by itself answer whether recovery may be pursued later. Federal law requires recovery of certain benefits from some deceased recipients’ estates and includes protections for specified surviving family members. Hardship procedures may also apply. The benefit received and the family’s circumstances matter.
Deeds require individual review
A Lady Bird deed, also called an enhanced life estate deed, can allow an owner to name a successor while retaining control during life. The Texas State Law Library explains that this deed may sometimes protect real property from Medicaid estate recovery. That is not a guarantee that any particular deed avoids a claim or preserves eligibility.
Before changing ownership, discuss title, existing loans, co-owners, taxes, benefit rules, and the intended beneficiary with appropriate advisers. Giving away a home or adding a child to a deed can have consequences that are difficult to reverse.
Questions for an elder-law attorney
- How is this particular home treated for the benefit program?
- Could a proposed transfer affect eligibility?
- What recovery rules, exceptions, or deadlines apply?
- Who would own the home after death, and what title work would be needed?
Bring the current deed, loan information, benefit notices, and existing estate documents. Massingill does not provide Medicaid planning or promise protection from recovery.
Further reading: Medicaid estate recovery overview and Texas State Law Library guide to Lady Bird deeds.
Joshua Massingill
Joshua Massingill is an attorney practicing in Austin, Texas. He serves on the Texas State Bar’s Law Practice Management Committee, the Leander Educational Excellence Foundation (LEEF) Board of Directors, and the Success-Werx Board of Advisors. He mentors young entrepreneurs in Leander ISD’s INCubatorEDU program and is active in his church.