Mother has been in nursing home 5 yrs on Medicaid. Ala.home is in both her name and daughter's name. When Mom dies, is full proceeds daughter. Names have been on deed for 25 yrs.
There is a big difference between getting the house in a Will vs the name already on the deed. So which is it? There is also a big difference if the daughter lives in the house vs she lives elsewhere. The deed must be carefully worded, is it Joint Tenant? Was Mom a Life Tenant? When Mom dies, the collection agent, HMS, will send a letter and give a deadline for applying for a hardship exemption. If daughter is living in the house, she needs to respond immediately to keep HMS from taking the property. If daughter is not living there, she will not get an exemption and will NEED a lawyer to handle the sale of the property and a negotiate a settlement figure with HMS.
I would ask a lawyer, but I do know when a husband and wife are in the same situation that medicaid will let the house stay in the surviving spouse's name as long as they are living in it. If they sell or die (as long as the title is properly in both their names), then the government would step in for the proceeds. They probably place a lien on it in the meantime.
When Mom dies, the collection agent, HMS, will send a letter and give a deadline for applying for a hardship exemption. If daughter is living in the house, she needs to respond immediately to keep HMS from taking the property. If daughter is not living there, she will not get an exemption and will NEED a lawyer to handle the sale of the property and a negotiate a settlement figure with HMS.