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Can Medicaid Collect From Estate if Community Spouse Dies?

  • May 20th, 2024
Q
My father-in-law lives at home, while his wife is in a nursing home and has been approved for Medicaid (in Medicaid jargon, my father-in-law is the “community spouse”). He has recently become seriously ill and is not expected to survive his wife. His only asset is a bank account held in his name with his son (my husband). Does Medicaid have a claim to any money left after he passes?
A

Medicaid only has a claim on assets that pass to your mother-in-law. It does not have a claim on assets that pass to others. It sounds like that your father-in-law’s only property is a joint account with your husband. If this is the case, at your father-in-law’s death, this will pass to your husband and will not be subject to claim by Medicaid. For more information about joint accounts, check out this article.

 

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Last Modified: 05/20/2024
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