Federal law allows the state Medicaid agency to recover assets from the deceased person’s “estate” at his or her death. States differ in how they define “estate” for purposes of Medicaid recovery. Some states—like Michigan, Texas, and Florida—define “estate” to mean “probate...
But if, during the five years before you apply for Medicaid, you use a traditional life estate deed to avoid probate, the value of your home will be an included asset and you may be disqualified from Medicaid. This does not happen if you use a Lady Bird deed, because it is not consid...