Medicaid repayment?

One more: The house is being sold for $55,000, and that's the kids'total inheritance.

Thanks for all your answers and attempted answers. Just to be clear: she was never in a nursing home, she has a living spouse and a minor child and the family is at poverty level. None of her assets are probate assets -- the house was owned by her living trust. I don't know NH law on this and yes, I'm consulting a lawyer.

I don't know if there's a lien on the house, we're checking. It may not be registered,

I note that several answers state when Medicaid is REQUIRED ti seek repayment. Does that mean they can also do so in cases where it is not required? Any guesses as to the likelihood that they will try?

I had to take a diaper change break.

The other thing to note is whether your state is a recovery from probate only state. Only assets that go through probate can be recovered from.

Using my previous California example. It's a probate recovery only state. So even if someone has been in a nursing home for 100 years and are well over 55 years old, if their assets don't go through probate then the state can't attempt recovery from those assets.

That's why a trust works to shield assets from MERP. But a trust is not the only way to avoid probate on a house. A TOD works as well. Simply being too low in value can also avoid recovery depending on prices in your area.

So, is the house going through probate? Does the state it's in only recover from assets going through probate?

Worried,
Your opinion would have been just as effective without those critical words
"YOU ARE WRONG AS USUAL".

Those are the words used to cause fights. imo.

As you suspect, Medicaid recovery is only mandated for people who got community/long term services when they were 55 or older.

"For individuals age 55 or older, states are required to seek recovery
of payments from the individual's estate for nursing facility services,
home and community-based services, and related hospital and prescription drug services."

https://www.medicaid.gov/medicaid/eligibility/estate-recover/index.html

Of course, that's the Federal mandate. Your state may feel otherwise. Please check the policies in your state. In my state, they say in certain terms that Medicaid Recovery only happens if you get those long term services while 55 or older.

I’m very sorry for the loss of your daughter. Since she was in a nursing home on Medicaid, her estate is subject to Medicaid estate recovery. She’s not exempt because of her age. Have you checked to see if Medicaid placed a lien on the home? Because that’s what they do when the person owned a home. If her children are minors and recovering from her estate will cause an undue financial hardship, then there may not be an attempt to recover from her estate. No one here can tell you for sure what is going to happen and whether or not you can shield the proceeds from the sale of the house from MERP. You probably need to consult an attorney before you do anything.