I assume that your mother is on Medicaid, and you are concerned about the Medicaid Estate Recovery program when she dies.
Who is maintaining the house while Mom is in the NH? Is a family member living there now? Did a family member live there to take care of Mom before she went into the NH?
Medicaid may want the proceeds from the sale of the house after Mom dies, but there are some exceptions. Medicaid is generally not interested in the content of the house. I suppose if that included a very valuable painting or something that would be considered an asset that might interest Medicaid, but usually such assets would already have been dealt with as part of the application process.
If Mom is not on Medicaid, then none of this applies.
As far as I know, they really are not interested in the contents of the house. They are more interested with the land it sits on and the condition of the house itself. I would check with an elder care attorney first before cleaning it out and dividing the contents of the house with family.
Lori, this is a very interesting question.... I am pushing this question back to the front of the line so that someone who has had this experience or knows the answer can help you :)
Who is maintaining the house while Mom is in the NH? Is a family member living there now? Did a family member live there to take care of Mom before she went into the NH?
Medicaid may want the proceeds from the sale of the house after Mom dies, but there are some exceptions. Medicaid is generally not interested in the content of the house. I suppose if that included a very valuable painting or something that would be considered an asset that might interest Medicaid, but usually such assets would already have been dealt with as part of the application process.
If Mom is not on Medicaid, then none of this applies.