My dad is on the deed of my grandmother's property, and she is both mentally ill and poor in health. He has POA over her, but she has no will other than a living will (DNR). My grandmother collects Social Security and Medicare, so does the federal government get her house upon her death, or does my dad?
This answer depends on so many variables: i.e what benefits exactly, has she been receiving? When was the transfer made to your father? what type of ownership interest did he take? etc.
I recommend you speak with an Elder Law/ Medicaid Estate Planning Attorney. You can use the "Find a Lawyer Option here on to find an attorney in your area. Many offer free consultations. However, I would note hesitate any longer in doing so. There may be options available to your Grandmother and Father. However, there are very strict time limits on many of these options. I hope this response helped in some way. I wish you the best of luck. I have also re-classified your question to estate planning, which may get you better exposure for more accurate and informational responses.
If the only benefits your grandmother will have received at the time of her death are Social Security and Medicare, the government would not have a claim against the house as a result. However, your dad would only be assured of receiving the home at that time if: he is a joint tenant with right of survivorship; your grandmother owns the life estate and your father owns the remainder interest; or your father is determined to be the only heir of your grandmother under Wyoming's laws of descent & distribution. I would recommend conferring with an Elder Law attorney there to have the deed reviewed and determine whether any other issues might be present other than those you have identified.
There are more facts needed but generally Medicare benefits paid for medical bills do not entitle the federal government to recoup the same from the recipient's estate. This is assuming they were regular Medicare benefits paid for healthcare costs. Medicare does have a lien on proceeds received from personal injury lawsuits when Medicare has paid for medical expenses on account of that personal injury. This does not seem to be your situation however.
William Ray PelgerCriminal Defense AttorneyMunhall, PA ·
Yes, please see a WY elder law attorney who can give you an opinion after a full review of the facts. her receiving Social Security and Medicare health coverage will not result in a lien on real property owned by your grandmother. If she received Medicaid benefits in the past or will apply for Medicaid eligibility, that may effect her real property (home) and other assets. Please have the deed reviewed by the attorney to make sure it passes to your father, if this was his mother's intent, after her death.
For Medicaid purposes (not Medicare or Social Security) Wyoming has expanded estate recovery so the State can still place a lien on the deceased's interest in a life estate or joint tenancy based on the value the moment before death. The life estate value decreases with age but it is still high. You don't break the 50% mark until the deceased is age 77. For a 99 year old person they place the value of the life estate at over 20% of the fair market value of the property. Plus they impose a penalty for transferring title to a life estate if done within five years of making application for Medicaid. If a person purchases a life estate in another person's home for fair market value and lives in it for at least a year the purchase price does not create a penalty, but the estate recovery issue eats up what benefit you might gain in the exempt purchase of a life estate, so experienced Wyoming elder law attorneys rarely use this technique. A lot of people still get hammered by using life estates. Joint tenancy is easier. They just base the recovery and penalty on the percentage of the estate. All that said it still doesn't mean we don't have ways of protecting the property if we have the right set of facts to work with.
