My Mother was in a nursing home for 4 years. In TN, how can I sell the house?

Medicaid has probably put a lien on the property. When it is sold, the lien would have to be settled at the closing table. They aren't going to release.

This is what my eldercare attorney has done, and my mother was able to sign papers knowing what was happening prior--The only way to legally keep the house from the clutches of Medicaid is to do a "ladybird" quick deed, which should have been done long beforehand. This means once the parent dies it automatically goes to the survivor who also has their name on the deed. You *cannot* sell the house if the parent is still alive, because the house is still the parent(s). This was estate planning; sadly, most people don't know about this. IF you do a REGULAR quick deed, and not a lady bird, that is, transfer the house under your name, the value of the house will be under the five-year look back law.

Yes, Medicaid will get their money back.

Get some legal advice.

Get an app't with an elder care attorney. Mine has told me that Medicaid rarely actually comes after the house....but you need to know how things work in your state. Maybe the TN Care Release is the same thing, since Medicaid is a federal program, but is managed by each state through their own Health Depts. An elder care attorney in TN would likely know though.

Riley - about the TN care release document, did it get issued because you or another heir qualified under a exclusion or exemption to MERP? Like you or another heir are low-income or disabled? Or were a caregiver to your mom for a year or more before she entered the NH? Medicaid's MERP claim or lien on a property is not always done as there are all sorts of exemptions & exclusions allowed against MERPs tally of services. Also some states have it so that MERP is not done on properties that are below a set tax assessor value ( I think MS has this and it's for property under 60k assessor value).

If any of this above could be, then thats why there would be no recovery done & why you got a release. So executor of the estate can sell the property.

If mom had a valid will, then how all this is done is based on your states probate laws (simple probate, muniment of title, small estate affavavit). If TN allows for a muniment, i'd suggest you look to that route. If No will....well that is different but again how to deal with dependent on TN probate laws.

Also a good experienced Realtor probably has dealt with the selling of estate property and can be quite helpful as to selling the house & working with the executor. Good luck as this probably is not going to be simple.

Cetude - "Lady Bird Deed" is not a "quick" deed. They are an enhanced life estate deed and allowed in just a few states ( under 10 states) and have to be specifically written or crafted to the states probate & administrative code. LBD - like life estates - transfer ownership outside of probate & as such is outside of medicaids MERP process. What is happening more & more is that states are disallowing any property in a life estate as a exempt asset for Medicaid.

LBD can be an estate planning option. But for those who do this and need to go into a NH and apply for medicaid, it poses the situation that family or heirs will have to be able to pay on ALL the costs on the LBD property from now and for the rest of the owners (the elder in the NH) life & then through the sale of the property. It's the same financial dilemma situation as those who keep the parents home and the parent goes into a NH on Medicaid. Medicaid requires them to essentially pay all their income to the NH as a copay. So everything on the house - taxes, insurance, upkeep, etc. - falls on family to pay till elders death and beyond through probate if not in life estate or through the selling/ real estate process. Keeping their home imho is like having a 2nd or 3rd home - most folks cannot afford 2nd or 3rd homes. But if you can, then go for it.

it's "quit" claim not quick claim.

Joanne - what is increasingly happening is that the states Medicaid program is having an outside contractor do MERP - medicaid estate recovery (or recoup) program (or policy). There are 2 main ones - HMS & PCG - and they are very very good at what they do and approach it much as a debt collection firm does. They get a% of the recovery plus fees. HMS does NY, GA, AL, TX plus a dz other states. Maybe last 3years has seen states turning merp over to outside contractors, so the data on collection $ & recovery rates still not out there on the Internet. What seems to be happening is the deceased point person on file for the medicaid application get a letter (like from HMS) that they or interested family or heirs have to file for the exclusion & or exemption with documentation to keep the outside contractor from issuing a claim or lien placed on the property. The letters have very exacting timeframes for compliance too.

First get a lawyer who can do a title search at the county hall. There can be more than one lien on the house, and you need to know for sure how it is titled. You also show that lawyer the Will, to prove you are empowered to sell the property. Bring the Deed and Survey too.

Well, I would assume unless you place him in a nursing home where public assistance is used to pay for his stay,,,,there is probably no reason for the lien. If you have a Financial POA, then I also would assume you have the right to sell his house. If not...if your mom is still able to reason, she could sign the house over to you to sell. I agree with Pam, see an attorney and bring all documents with you for the discussion. My Partner made a Trust and I am the Trustee on the Deed also. BUT, he recently made arrangements to turn the house over to me. The attorney is preparing the deed now. It is simple, and he files it with the County. There are no liens at this point. But, because of the 5 yr lookback, if he is placed, I probably would have to come up with part of the cash I gain from selling. At this point, we are SO happy in our home that we have no desire to sell the home.