Can state of Missouri take family farm?

How was title held on the deed? You write that his name "cannot be taken off of the farm" - was he the sole owner stated on the deed?

States generally have laws for people who die intestate (without a will) specifying the order of asset distribution.

It sounds as if there are some family issues as well as the title issue. I assume you won't quit (not quick) claim your interest for various reasons, including that you don't want your stepmother to have the property. So apparently you were one of the heirs, or were named on the deed jointly with your father? It sounds also as if the property became yours after your father's death, by virtue of holding joint title with him. Further, that your stepmother wants to remove you from ownership but you don't agree?

I'm just trying to read between the lines here to figure out the situation.

I'm not clear on why the state would acquire the property. Was your father on Medicaid?

Check this out: it addresses Missouri laws on the assets of someone who dies intestate. You can also google "Missouri intestate laws" to get more information.

http://www.moga.mo.gov/mostatutes/stathtml/47400000101.HTML

But I think the issue is more between you and your stepmother, so we can't really answer thoroughly without some knowledge of that situation as well as whether or not your father was getting Medicaid.

Tex - there isn't going to be a simple answer and you are going to have to get an attorney in Missouri to deal with this. You don't have to have a will or do probate to get the deceased assets changed, you can do this by a lineal heirship; they are done all the time but you need an attorney and it will take more time and the attorney will have to find out all details on the deceased past (marriages, divorces, children, property searches in any states lives, etc); you may have to have folks sign off that they knew him, etc. But lineal heirship can be done.

Whatever the case, there's intestate death & lineal heirship issues and then the possibility of stepmom being ineligible for Medicaid due to the QCD done. Plus the whole sticky of QCD not being a guarantee of ownership & also it seems you never went to the courthouse to register the QCD as the deed is still in their names. You all need an attorney.

I'd guess that what is probably going to happen is if the property shows up tax assessor records as an asset owned by her & your dad, then if she applies for Medicaid (Medicaid NOT Medicare) - which is a state program (Medicare is federal) the farm if that is her homestead will be an exempt asset during her lifetime but when she dies, Medicaid is required to do estate recovery to offset the costs paid for her care. This is the MERP program and all states have to have it in place. Each state runs MERP uniquely & very much interdependent on the states laws on probate, property rights, etc. If the farm is not her homestead, then it's an asset & will need to be sold with the proceeds down as her spend-down before Medicaid will pay.

You never filed the QCD?

Igloo gives good advice. Another idea if you have access to the estate paperwork is to find out who, if anyone has done the titlework. You can call your county tax assessor to find out how the farm is titled, if there are any liens against it, etc. In some parts of the world, a title company (they sell title insurance and are a necessary part of any real estate transaction) would better at quickly determining WHO exactly owns the property. Sounds like you need to find a lawyer experience in both estates and real estate. (And NEVER sign a quit claim deed unless a lawyer advises it.)

I believe when real estate property is held in joint tenacy as a couple, the surviving spouse becomes the exclusive owner of the property. It depends alot on how the deed is written.

Keep us posted on how you end up handling this one. Wow, what a tangle. I am glad you will eventually get to have the 40 that was your mothers. What are Missouri's rules on probate. Can't you still go through the probate process if it will help straighten this out?

No matter what you do, if your stepmom has a financial interest in the farm, Medicaid will lay claim to that portion if they are going to pay for her care.

Texashair,
Sounds like you need to find someone local to answer your questions. Seek out the local extension agent, county clerk, who could direct you to a pro bono (free) legal workshop. Here is a link to an ag probate flyer I found online:

http://agebb.missouri.edu/agtax/issues/estgift/probate.pdf

It does sound like Missouri requires probate to settle estates. Keep us posted.

Jessie's right. With all the complexities, you really need an attorney with good background in complex title issues.

As to a filing deadline with the local probate court, just call it and ask about a deadline to file for an estate.

Some probate judge is going to have a LOT of fun dis-entangling this case.

The whole issue of Medicaid estate recovery (aka MERP) really places a spin on how property is dealt with for the surviving spouse, Joint Tenant situations, heirs, etc. Once his stepmom applies for Medicaid, within the application is some sort of "acknowledgement of participation" statement that allows the state to recover any & all costs from their assets both while alive and then in death. Whether your state is aggressive in MERP & has outsourced it OR is still having state employees do recovery, their assets will get either a claim or a lien placed upon it. Heirs do not have to sign off to agree to this either.

Also when their at the NH they must pay their income to the NH as their SOC (share of cost). This places another fun! problem, in that stepmom will have no - none - nada of her income to pay on anything on the farm from here on out. Someone within the family will have to pay all the costs on the house now an till death and then through the probate process. Taxes, maintenance, insurance etc. It adds up. For most, property gets sold within the first few months of their being in a NH.

So Tex, who is gonna pay for everything on the farm from now on? Really you need Missouri legal to figure out just where you & stepmom are in legal ownership asap & before too much $$ & time passes.

I'd be concerned that if the QCD was never filed at courthouse, so that the property has been like forever in your Dad's & stepmom's names, that it's basically without any standing. QCD is not a warranty deed and there is no guarantee of ownership like in a warranty deed.

Tex are you on good terms with whomever is doing the paperwork for step-mom? Doing things with ownership at any time from now to 5 years back, will have an eligibility problem for her. Probably with a transfer penalty. If you all are not at all kum-ba-ya to begin with, this could get quite ugly.