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Letty - if your aunts valid will had her life estate left to a cousin (& not you), how were you able to have the property titled to you? Being executor requires you to follow terms of the will - which may or may not be to your benefit but however the will reads - which you said left estate to a cousin. Something doesn't sound right in this in addition to any MERP issues.
I'm going to guess that since within family transfer, no title insurance done.
lettyc745, If the claim was not presented at probate, they may be out of luck. If you got title insurance, you may have to use it. Also beware of false MERP scams.. I think you should see an attorney.
I was unaware of any Merp claim at the time of my aunts death. She left a will and named me, niece, as her executor of her estate. Also, she left her cousin a life estate in the home. I had the will probated and was titled in my name. Can they still claim the house?
Pam - my understanding is that a Lady Bird as an Enhanced Benefit Deed is not like a Life Estate. If that's correct, future heirs cannot buy out the residual value of the property using tables for tenancy. LBD are an all or nothing situation; they have to die for the deed to be activated. For those not going onto Medicaid, it's great as grannie has paid on all things house, then dies and house passes outside of probate. But for those that outlived their $$ and ended up needing Medicaid, the future heirs are going to have to pay all house costs from now till beyond death plus deal with MERP paperwork to get the house via the lady bird post death.
Heirs are all kum-ba-ya when everybody's getting stuff for free. But if future heirs have to front $$'s for possibly years on a house they don't legally own, 1 or more of the future heirs is not going to pay (yet can demand their share after death). DPOA may just decide to sell the house as the interest and $ just isn't there to justify dealing with the property.
I think its just a very few states for Lady Birds - TX, FL & MI do them. I'm not sure who the other states are.
Shy - you kinda have 2 different issues: 1 getting your mom who is still living at her home and so getting community based Medicaid to qualify for skilled nursing care at a NH; AND 2. what happens with her home which she did a Lady Bird deed to you.
For the NH, she will have to qualify to show the need for skilled nursing and have a MD prescription for that need along with a health history documenting need. Could be easy or could be hard….
For the Lady Bird aka Enhanced benefit deed, that comes into play only once your mom has died. Property must stay in her name till after she dies. The atty. should have explained how this works. So if it was done correctly, after she dies and you get the NOI (notice of intent) for estate recovery (MERP) from either the state or whomever is the outside contractor for recovery, you fill out the questionnaire and return it within whatever time frame and attached a copy of the LBD and request a release of the Medicaid claim against your mom's estate. Personally I think you need the atty who did the LBD to do this for you and follow through on getting the documentation. Once you get the release you take it to the courthouse and apply for transfer however it can be done for your state. I'd suggest you look into what your state allows (or doesn't allow) for doing a muniment of title or small estates affidavit. Personally I would not do any of this "pro se" (on you own). There is someone on this site who has been through this and it took their atty. about 4 months to clear from death and get release from state and file at courthouse.
Although Lady Bird Deeds sound just great for the handful of states that allow them, you as the heir to the property will have to front all expenses on the house from day 1 of mom's NH Medicaid stay till she dies and then however long it takes for the property to clear MERP, get the release and transfer property to your name at the courthouse. Once mom goes into a NH and onto Medicaid, all her monthly income less a smallish personal needs allowance (ranges from $ 35 - 105 a month) will be required to be paid to the NH. So mom will have no-none-nada of her $ anymore to pay on anything "house". So all taxes, insurance, utilities,maintenance, etc. are on you to pay entirely. If there is a mortgage, this could be quite a bit of $$ each month. If the house is empty, you may need to get a change of insurance as the owner is not occupying the property. For medicaid or tax assessor, mom may have to do a annual "I plan to return" statement. Whether house is affordable all depends on your pocketbook, purse and sense of humor.
You cannot change the deed. She has to die first & then you file for transfer.
There are like 6 states that allow Lady Bird Deeds. I wouldn't be surprised if some of them decided to change their administrative code to disallow them to be a way to exempt the home as an asset for Medicaid rules. Much like some states now go after Life Estates for Medicaid estate recovery.
Shy1997 a person with Life Estate has to be bought out of the deed. The IRS and Medicaid use an actuarial table to determine the value of life estate/life tenancy. Far better you wait until her death, when you do not have to buy out her share.
My mother was diagnosed with Alzheimer's in 2012, at that time went to attorney to do her Will. Also, had Lady Bird Deed in the event she passed away her home would go to myself, her daughter. Since, that time we moved to another home that was more conducive to her needs. I requested, Lady Bird Deed to sign the home over to myself and my husband in the event my mother were to pass away, because we put money in this in order to afford this home. We've been in this home a year. I applied for my mom to receive Medicaid in Feb 2016 she was approved 6-1-16. My mother has progressed in her disease. I want to know, if my moms name can be removed from the current deed? I'm at a point i don't believe I can continue carrying for her due to the toll it's taken on me. I'm considering placing her in nursing home after the first of the year. I want to spend the holidays with her. Will Medicaid still be responsible, if I place her after new year in a nursing home?
SSbrave - also if you are paying for any of the costs on the vacant property, most states have it such that these costs along with any costs of care paid (that kept them from getting onto Medicaid sooner) are to be deducted from the amount MERP is wanting paid. You need to be able to document all these costs.
Light bulbs here; emergency plumber bill there; taxes due end of January….it does all add up. You want to make sure that all costs paid on the vacant property are credited or deducted properly if MERP does place a claim or a lien on the property.
I'd be cautious on getting the property condemned. If its an older property or has been through flooding or had new drywall 2005/2009, you may have to get an environmental done on the property BEFORE it can be torn down and then it gets removed under whatever hazard mitigation is REQUIRED to be done.
Older houses can have asbestos or if there was flooding as per FEMA in the area you may have mold inspection and remediation removal required to be done. If any of drywall was put in during Chinese drywall incident period that too has a specific remediation on removal. All total PIA to deal with. I know of houses that have had all 3 issues.
If there are major issues lurking about, it might be better to get inspection & conservative appraisal done and sell "as is" and denoting that seller is deceased and so because of that you as the executor cannot accurately determine if there are any environmental issues and sell the house asap for whatever figure seems to be somewhat reasonable and notate that there could be a claim or lein on the deceased estate due to MERP in the act of sale paperwork.
SSbrave - Good luck, it sounds like a real clusterF to deal with
Tax assessor value may NOT be the figure necessarily used for MERP.
It is probably the simplest way. But if you are doing probate then there will be legal value placed on the estate as a part of the probate process. Estate is the value of house & other items and then less whatever claims are placed against the estate. MERP is a claim against the estate as are executor expenses and any others who have claims against the estate. The +/- tally provides for value of the estate. How claims are dealt with is totally dependent on the probate system for your state.
The assessors figure is based on comps of other property in the area. Most assessors have an outside contractor who either annually or every few years do the value based on recent sales, sq footage, etc. It may or MAY NOT BE accurate as to the value of property. It is up to whomever is the executor or interested party to get an appraisal of the property to better determine value IF the assessors value is whack & use the new & more accurate figure of property value. All figures go into determining the "recoverable estate".
To get assessor value changed by the county or parish, you need to do it however the period of challenge is heard. It should be on the county or tax assessor's website. They tend to open up in March when the prospective tax bill is set to the property or whatever address filed at assessors office. Usually challenges need to be filed by end of May. Usually a 90 day window.
Just saying its worth less does NOT work. You have to have photos or reports to support lower value at a minimum. The better approach is to get the house inspected as well as have a residential structural engineer report to support that it's worth less. Then with these in hard, you get an appraisal done. All are legal documents, done by a licensed professionals and usually with some sort of state licensing # & seal on the report. They get filed along with whatever else you want to submit to get a hearing to get value reduced. Inspection $ 250 - 500; appraisal seems to be based on sq footage with a minimum cost $ 300. Structural engineer - this I've found is the hardest to get done as most guys flat do not do small residential reports - $ 500 - $ 1500. If assessor does not like the figures, they have to get their own reports done & co-ordinate with you or whomever is executor an inspection on the property.
Other than safeguarding the property and paying the required (taxes, insurance, yard upkeep as per codes & keeping the neighbors happy), you probably really should not do any major repairs or renovations till the assessment review or probate or MERP finalization is done.
Also Realtor comps - the book that a Realtor will do to show you how much a house could possible sell for - have no legal standing. These do give you lots of good information but its based on other MLS listings and sales in the area that may or may not be at all close to the property you have.
Call the building inspector, who will likely condemn the building. Then the only value left is the empty lot. In fact the assessor records assign value to the lot and value to the structure. Read the assessment.
If the assessor values the property at $17k, but an individual who knows the history of the house to include all of it's flaws and needed repairs says that it is worth several thousand less than the assessor's value, what does one do? For example, the add-on bedroom is beginning to separate from the main house causing the common wall to begin pulling away from the adjoining ceiling as well as the add-on floor to also separate from the common wall to the point that daylight can be seen in the corner of the closet. A new roof was built on top of the add-on's old, existing flat roof that previously leaked for decades with the added weight now causing major settling of the property and possible danger more especially if the flat roof was not sound due to possible rot. This is just a small sampling of things that the assessor is not aware of which would decrease the value of the property.
My mother had been the nursing home for ten months when she pasted away. No one told us anything about MERP so we sold her car and her house about a month ago and we just now got the MERP claim papers. We sold the house for than less than the county had it valued at . We sold it for $10,000 and they say the value was $13,550 and we sold her vehicle for 1500.00 . One of my siblings lives on disability and is terribly worried about this because like most of us has already spent her share... There is a will but it has never been probated... What shall we do.. Concerned Sister Lsmith...
My mother had been the nursing home for ten months when she pasted away. No one told us anything about MERP so we sold her car and her house about a month ago and we just now got the MERP claim papers. We sold the house for than less than the county had it valued at . We sold it for $10,000 and they say the value was $13,550 and we sold her vehicle for 1500.00 . One of my siblings lives on disability and is terribly worried about this because like most of us has already spent her share... There is a will but it has never been probated... What shall we do.. Concerned Sister Lsmith...
I am claiming disabled child exception. According to the MERP site I am exempt from the lien, yet they are taking too much time to get back with me. I filled out the forms and mailed in copies of every thing they wanted! My mothers home was left to me in a will and I live there. This is my only home. Its going on 2 months and I have called 4 times and they cant find the forms I mailed in so, I faxed them all. Still heard nothing. I just called them again and they are supposed to call me back. with in 24 hours gez. What is the problem? Its taking way too long!
D- you may want to contact BCBS to see if they are required as per policy terms to suspend her coverage once Medicaid is approved. Her $129 monthly will no longer per paid to BCBS but will have to go towards her copay at the NH. It could take a couple of months to get this worked through.
If her BCBS doesn't require this is to be done, then leave it and the BCBS payment should be removed from the NH copay required. You will need to send letters to state medicaid program to get this done and a change in her eligibility and copay required redone and sent out. But most BCBS will require a suspension ( you don't want to cancell it but suspended coverage).
They are allowed 2k in assets in addition to whatever they get for monthly income (the $1,300). How much do you realistically think the mobile home can sell for? Bet it's low. She doesn't own the land, does she? What seems to be a possibility is if the sale amount is smallish (10/15k), they (you as DPOA) do a soenddiem of all but 2k within the month. So they start the month and end the month within Medicaid limits. Comprende? Usually the extra $ goes to doing a fully prepaid funeral & burial policy that is Meducaid compliant (8-10k); speciality wheelchair; dental work, etc. things that can easily cost $$$$ and needed for better health. If you do this, try to schedule the closing of the sale right at the beginning of the month to allow for everything to be done and cleared through moms bank account before EOM. You should let moms Medicaid caseworker know of your plans too. Believe me they don't want to have to do ineligibility paperwork and the have to do reeligibility 60 days later. Keep communication open so they know there's no gutting or other improprieties going on. Good luck.
Wondering if you can point me in the right direction. Mother with alz. is in nursing home in SC. SC Medicaid finally approved. She is required to pay over 1300 copay, which after her BCBS is 129.00 more than she has. She also has a mobile home on a rented lot to maintain. My question is what can we do to liquidate her mobile home and not have her Medicaid revoked. She will not be able to return to her home. We are not trying to hide or withhold any money from nursing home or medicaid and are unable to get a straight answer from anyone. Thank you for your assistance.
Grandma - if the "Lady Bird" deed (aka Enhanced Life Estate Deed & sometimes an Enhanced Benefit Deed or Transfer on Death Deed) was properly done then the property should have transferred to you outside of probate. That is why Lady Birds' are done - to deal with an asset OUTSIDE of probate. There are just a handful of states that recognize & accept Lady Birds too (like TX, MI, FL). So assuming you are in a state that does then IF all the paperwork on the house was done & filed & property is now fully in your name & has been you should not have to worry about MERP. MERP does not know that a Lady Bird exists - they seem to assume that all property is open to their claim or lien & will go to probate.
Why? because in theory it is through probate that MERP (Medicaid Estate Recovery Program) can enforce it's claim or lien against the estate of the deceased. So no probate = no MERP. Whether it is a claim or a lien will depend on your state's laws for property, probate, etc. Like for TX, MERP is a level of class for claims probate system, & MERP is a class 7 claim. So all other classes 1 - 6 are paid first & foremost, so the MERP recovery rates are low. But this is based on the heirs actually going, filing and doing probate. Many folks just don't do probate so MERP seems to be doing a claim or lien by default for those.
But you are outside of probate, so you need to let them know. I'm assuming that you just got a letter on state letterhead that reads something like " we are sorry for your recent loss……the deceased owes the state of whatever $ 64,000 which is due now". It is not a warm & fuzzy letter. Within the letter there should be a timeframe indicated in which you have to respond by a letter or by filling out a form to let MERP know is there are exemptions, exclusions or other hardships that affect the property. A lady bird deed because it falls outside of probate provides for an exemption from any MERP action. Now you can contact the attorney who did the lady bird to do this for you or you could do this on your own (I think you can do this first part on your own). I would suggest that you do a very short 1 page letter to respond to the letter that: "This property (put in the extact address and the parcel # that is it's ID as per your tax assessor) transferred as per a Lady Bird Deed (you need to put exactly what they are called in your state). As such no probate was needed or will be opened. I consider the transfer of the property as per all state laws & statues and not subject to any MERP action. Thank you for your attention to this. All further questions or concerns regarding this must be sent to me in writing at……". Then sign you name as how it reads on the property. Then you mail this letter registered mail with a return registered receipt (this is the green post card). All this will run about $ 8.00 at the post office. In about 8 - 12 days you will get back the signed off post card. This provides for your legal document that you have done what you need to do to establish your position as to your trumping any MERP claim. Put the copy of the letter and the returned post card someplace save. Understand?
Now if after this, they continue to insist you owe MERP, I'd get an attorney. But more likely they will want documentation of the property transfer & for more fun, they will want it within a few days. So try to soon either go on-line to your courthouse records and pay a small fee to download or have mailed to you 2 copies of all the legal on the house. For most it's under $ 5.00 per document too. Some counties don't do on-line so you may have to go to the courthouse. If you're not used to a courthouse and get intimidated, go early about 9/9:30 AM and let the ladies who work the desks in the tax assessor or chancery clerks office guide you - I've found these gals are pro's and love having a older 'auntie" to help out as a break from the steady stream of paralegals & attorney's.Oh take cash too as most courthouses will not take checks from individuals and will place a service fee on credit card charges.
You do want to get a "release of claim or lien" from the state too. This is a form that is specific to the property& it's county that comes from the state. Then go to the courthouse and have it filed on the property/parcel. This just legally establishes that there is no MERP on the property so that there is no issue in the future when you go to sell the property or transfer it to your family.
In a lot of states, MERP has been outsourced to contractors. So some are going through past years or a backlog of deceased Medicaid recipients to try to get recovery $$. MERP contractors - who do this under state contract - get a % of the recovery (in my mom's state it's 16%), so it's very much like an aggressive debt collector rather than the slower state employee doing MERP. Let us know what happens too - we all learn from each other. Good luck.
Question: Mother was on medicaid and on hospice in a care facility at the time of her death. I am a widow and have been living in her home for the past 8 years. Her lawyer prior to her death filed a "Lady Bird" deed so her property rolled over to me at the time of her death. MERP is now filing a claim for $64,084. I have only my social sercurity income . Making only $16,000 a year. Can they make me sell the house? or if I sell the house and move to where my kids are, will the make ME pay them the money? There was a will. No assets, no Probate. House is in my name. No liens on property.
On a general basis, I don't have an issue with MERP. I can understand why the feds made the states do some sort of recoup. But I do have a problem with it's being turned over to collection agencies and without a Fair Credit Reporting Act to be accountable to.
MERP -Medicaid estate recovery gets to the heart of the issue of who should pay for long-term care -- the public through the tax-supported Medicaid program, &/or users of long-term care through their personal resources, including those remaining after death. Amounts collected from Medicaid recipients' estates are not insignificant in absolute terms. They do, however, pale next to total Medicaid spending for long-term care.And it's only going to increase, given that Medicaid is available only to those with very limited resources and the state of US economy. In a way, the fact that so many people are poverty level will decrease the amount of MERP because many heirs will be able to do hardship exemptions.
At my mom's NH wing, there are 9 ladies in their 90's & all of them have 1940-1950's era homes & all have decades of delayed home maintenance to some degree. All but 2 sit empty. I don't think any of them can sell for the assessor value. Just how is MERP going to deal with releasing a claim on something that will never sell at it's supposed value? It's going to be a nightmare to enforce.
Google Randy Drewett. His website is filled with all kinds of MERP & elder law info that is easily readable. Randy's based in big, beautiful Beaumont.
Keep in mind and make it your mantra.... HMS is a contractor for the state and not an arm of Texas government, even with the state seal on the letterhead. HMS is a collection agency.
I will suggest that every thing discussed needs to be followed-up in writing and sent certified & return registered mail (the green card). There are tight time-frames on MERP.So you need to be tip-top on timeliness.
If you're not claiming MERP exemptions, and you paid for anything for the house then you need to be planning on filing your own claim for every penny spent & let HMS know that. You get paid first before MERP for it. This works only if the house is empty.
MERP is a class 7 claim in TX - that means there are 6 other levels of claims that get paid first. If you are appointed you can get paid for management of the estate (class 2). Your expenses on the property go in this category. Between these 2 that alone could eat up the value of the estate. With zero left for HMS.
Part of your sticky issue might be the whole "no will" aspect. Maybe when it's "intestate" it changes how MERP get's done. If there is no surviving heir, all property goes to the State under property code 71.001. You may just need to get an elder care attorney to work all this out for you and soon.
As far as the value of the house, go to Zillow or Trulia to see what the comps are for houses nearby that are similar and sold within the past 90 days to see if it's in the 18K range. This might be hard because that is so low it isn't worth data collecting. Getting the appraisal changed can be done - I did it for my mom & had reduced over 50K due to major foundation issues but I went in with photos and 3 estimates for foundation and another set for interior repairs all from licensed co. They checked to see if they each had a current license too. They were quite nice about it as really make much tax difference since in most county/cities 65+ taxes are frozen or have a homestead exemption. Good luck.
The HMS people (contrators for DADS are vicious about pursuing a claim - I'm arguing with them about a house worth less than $10,000, but they act like I'm Cinderella wanting to go to the ball - always coming up with new tasks for me to do, and then saying that it is not enough, not what they want or that they are not going to honor what they have said they would do. I have been trying to research the whole MERP process and it is as difficult to find answers as it is to try to claim exemptions (which I am not trying to do). I am taking the position that the house is not worth the $18,000 the Appraisal district says it is, and that filing against the estate is not cost-effective. They seem to be making up "rules" as they go along,, and you never talk to the same person when you call. The amount owed to the state for nursing home care is only $15,000. Would appreciate hearing from others who have had this experience. (There was no will...)
Kitty2 - you are in TX? MERP in TX is done by a claim in probate as it is a debt of the estate. Most states do not do it this way and MERP is a lien.
TX is an easy probate state. The claims against the estate are classified in order of payment: class 1 is funeral, burial, recent medical; class 2 is maintenance of the estate; MERP is a class 7, etc.
But before you deal with probate, the main & VERY IMPORTANT issue is whether or not MERP will even file a claim against the estate for Medicaid NH $$ recovery.
You or whomever is the representative of the estate (whomever is going to be the executor once probate is opened) need to send a letter to TX DADS notifying them that you are either going to file or an exemption &/or your own claim for expenses against the estate. This needs to be done ASAP - keep is short with all your contact information. As per State of Tx website: "Personal representatives of estates who elect to provide notice to the State for presentation of an estate recovery claim should send the notice to the following address: Accounts Receivable Mail Code E-411 Texas Department of Aging and Disability Services P.O. Box 149030 Austin, TX 78714-9030"
If you are doing an exemption, there will be forms MERP will send you to fill out. What exactly depends on which exemption you are claiming.
For claims for $ spent on the home it's different. Remember, once they are in LTC/NH there was no $ to be used on the home as ALL money less personal needs of $ 30-60 a month was paid to the facility. So you or whomever in the family paid for everything for the house even though it is in not in your name. Who paid the insurance, property taxes, yard work, other stuff? Any one who paid can file for recoup (accounts recovery) of their $ which will be deducted from the total that MERP wants. Also if you spent $ on any care before she went into the NH that kept her from going into the NH, that $ can be deducted too. MERP needs to get a letter from anyone who is going to file their own recoup claim.
For example, the insurance, taxes and repairs for the past 2 years is 15K and your have cancelled checks and receipts to prove it. Also for 3 years before she went into the NH you (you paid & not out of her $$) paid for a home health service to come to her home to help her. That cost you 10K but it kept her from going to the NH for those 3 years. So you have your own claim for 25K that will need to be deducted from MERP.
By letting MERP know you have & will file for an exemption or a claim, they can evaluate whether or not it is even worth doing a recoup on your mom's estate. For a property with a low value & a claim it's not really cost effective for MERP to spend the time. In TX the MERP recoup % is low compared with other states.
Again, you need to let MERP know asap you will file a claim or an exemption. The exemption list is on their website: www.dads.state.tx.us/services/estate_recovery/
My gut feeling is MERP doesn't persue claim unless they can recoup a clean $100/150K+ from the sale of the home. MERP is done by contractors so a small estate w/an expense claim, low value home is going to take too much time to be worth it. It's the same level of paperwork for a 50K house as for one that has a value of 200K, I know what I'd go for.......
When you go to probate, you will need to have an "Authorization and MERP Certification - July, 2009 edition" form done in order for the probate judge to distribute the house as per the will. You also need this done to have a clear title. It's a simple 1 page form that you or your probate attorney faxes to the MERP contractor - they are super quick with a 3 day turn-around.
If it's a really small estate (with a will and just the house and a small amount of $) and you get the MERP certification/release form above, you might not even need to go to probate. You could go the muniment of title route on the house, so the house goes into whomever is named in the will to inheirit the house. All these things are sticky and you really should get a probate attorney who practices in the county where the property is to handle it for you as you want it to be done right. It will make it all go smooth and alot less pressure. If you have the paperwork together (death certificate, will, inventory, MERP forms) the actual attorney time is small. I've been executrix twice and the attorney's fees were around 3% to 7% of the estate or maybe $ 150 -300 hr which is well worth it. Good luck and get that letter off.
Most likely they will take whatever they need to pay off her bill. Generally - and I say generally, as every situation can have unique aspects and each state is a bit different - Medicaid puts a lien against the property which is then sold unless the debt is paid some other way. Take care, Carol
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Being executor requires you to follow terms of the will - which may or may not be to your benefit but however the will reads - which you said left estate to a cousin.
Something doesn't sound right in this in addition to any MERP issues.
I'm going to guess that since within family transfer, no title insurance done.
Heirs are all kum-ba-ya when everybody's getting stuff for free. But if future heirs have to front $$'s for possibly years on a house they don't legally own, 1 or more of the future heirs is not going to pay (yet can demand their share after death). DPOA may just decide to sell the house as the interest and $ just isn't there to justify dealing with the property.
I think its just a very few states for Lady Birds - TX, FL & MI do them. I'm not sure who the other states are.
1 getting your mom who is still living at her home and so getting community based Medicaid to qualify for skilled nursing care at a NH; AND
2. what happens with her home which she did a Lady Bird deed to you.
For the NH, she will have to qualify to show the need for skilled nursing and have a MD prescription for that need along with a health history documenting need. Could be easy or could be hard….
For the Lady Bird aka Enhanced benefit deed, that comes into play only once your mom has died. Property must stay in her name till after she dies. The atty. should have explained how this works. So if it was done correctly, after she dies and you get the NOI (notice of intent) for estate recovery (MERP) from either the state or whomever is the outside contractor for recovery, you fill out the questionnaire and return it within whatever time frame and attached a copy of the LBD and request a release of the Medicaid claim against your mom's estate. Personally I think you need the atty who did the LBD to do this for you and follow through on getting the documentation. Once you get the release you take it to the courthouse and apply for transfer however it can be done for your state. I'd suggest you look into what your state allows (or doesn't allow) for doing a muniment of title or small estates affidavit. Personally I would not do any of this "pro se" (on you own). There is someone on this site who has been through this and it took their atty. about 4 months to clear from death and get release from state and file at courthouse.
Although Lady Bird Deeds sound just great for the handful of states that allow them, you as the heir to the property will have to front all expenses on the house from day 1 of mom's NH Medicaid stay till she dies and then however long it takes for the property to clear MERP, get the release and transfer property to your name at the courthouse. Once mom goes into a NH and onto Medicaid, all her monthly income less a smallish personal needs allowance (ranges from $ 35 - 105 a month) will be required to be paid to the NH. So mom will have no-none-nada of her $ anymore to pay on anything "house". So all taxes, insurance, utilities,maintenance, etc. are on you to pay entirely. If there is a mortgage, this could be quite a bit of $$ each month. If the house is empty, you may need to get a change of insurance as the owner is not occupying the property. For medicaid or tax assessor, mom may have to do a annual "I plan to return" statement. Whether house is affordable all depends on your pocketbook, purse and sense of humor.
You cannot change the deed. She has to die first & then you file for transfer.
There are like 6 states that allow Lady Bird Deeds. I wouldn't be surprised if some of them decided to change their administrative code to disallow them to be a way to exempt the home as an asset for Medicaid rules. Much like some states now go after Life Estates for Medicaid estate recovery.
Light bulbs here; emergency plumber bill there; taxes due end of January….it does all add up. You want to make sure that all costs paid on the vacant property are credited or deducted properly if MERP does place a claim or a lien on the property.
If its an older property or has been through flooding or had new drywall 2005/2009, you may have to get an environmental done on the property BEFORE it can be torn down and then it gets removed under whatever hazard mitigation is REQUIRED to be done.
Older houses can have asbestos or if there was flooding as per FEMA in the area you may have mold inspection and remediation removal required to be done. If any of drywall was put in during Chinese drywall incident period that too has a specific remediation on removal. All total PIA to deal with. I know of houses that have had all 3 issues.
If there are major issues lurking about, it might be better to get inspection & conservative appraisal done and sell "as is" and denoting that seller is deceased and so because of that you as the executor cannot accurately determine if there are any environmental issues and sell the house asap for whatever figure seems to be somewhat reasonable and notate that there could be a claim or lein on the deceased estate due to MERP in the act of sale paperwork.
SSbrave - Good luck, it sounds like a real clusterF to deal with
It is probably the simplest way. But if you are doing probate then there will be legal value placed on the estate as a part of the probate process. Estate is the value of house & other items and then less whatever claims are placed against the estate. MERP is a claim against the estate as are executor expenses and any others who have claims against the estate. The +/- tally provides for value of the estate. How claims are dealt with is totally dependent on the probate system for your state.
The assessors figure is based on comps of other property in the area. Most assessors have an outside contractor who either annually or every few years do the value based on recent sales, sq footage, etc. It may or MAY NOT BE accurate as to the value of property. It is up to whomever is the executor or interested party to get an appraisal of the property to better determine value IF the assessors value is whack & use the new & more accurate figure of property value. All figures go into determining the "recoverable estate".
To get assessor value changed by the county or parish, you need to do it however the period of challenge is heard. It should be on the county or tax assessor's website. They tend to open up in March when the prospective tax bill is set to the property or whatever address filed at assessors office. Usually challenges need to be filed by end of May. Usually a 90 day window.
Just saying its worth less does NOT work. You have to have photos or reports to support lower value at a minimum. The better approach is to get the house inspected as well as have a residential structural engineer report to support that it's worth less. Then with these in hard, you get an appraisal done. All are legal documents, done by a licensed professionals and usually with some sort of state licensing # & seal on the report. They get filed along with whatever else you want to submit to get a hearing to get value reduced. Inspection $ 250 - 500; appraisal seems to be based on sq footage with a minimum cost $ 300. Structural engineer - this I've found is the hardest to get done as most guys flat do not do small residential reports - $ 500 - $ 1500. If assessor does not like the figures, they have to get their own reports done & co-ordinate with you or whomever is executor an inspection on the property.
Other than safeguarding the property and paying the required (taxes, insurance, yard upkeep as per codes & keeping the neighbors happy), you probably really should not do any major repairs or renovations till the assessment review or probate or MERP finalization is done.
Also Realtor comps - the book that a Realtor will do to show you how much a house could possible sell for - have no legal standing. These do give you lots of good information but its based on other MLS listings and sales in the area that may or may not be at all close to the property you have.
If her BCBS doesn't require this is to be done, then leave it and the BCBS payment should be removed from the NH copay required. You will need to send letters to state medicaid program to get this done and a change in her eligibility and copay required redone and sent out. But most BCBS will require a suspension ( you don't want to cancell it but suspended coverage).
They are allowed 2k in assets in addition to whatever they get for monthly income
(the $1,300). How much do you realistically think the mobile home can sell for? Bet it's low. She doesn't own the land, does she? What seems to be a possibility is if the sale amount is smallish (10/15k), they (you as DPOA) do a soenddiem of all but 2k within the month. So they start the month and end the month within Medicaid limits. Comprende? Usually the extra $ goes to doing a fully prepaid funeral & burial policy that is Meducaid compliant (8-10k); speciality wheelchair; dental work, etc. things that can easily cost $$$$ and needed for better health.
If you do this, try to schedule the closing of the sale right at the beginning of the month to allow for everything to be done and cleared through moms bank account before EOM. You should let moms Medicaid caseworker know of your plans too. Believe me they don't want to have to do ineligibility paperwork and the have to do reeligibility 60 days later. Keep communication open so they know there's no gutting or other improprieties going on. Good luck.
Thank you for your assistance.
Why? because in theory it is through probate that MERP (Medicaid Estate Recovery Program) can enforce it's claim or lien against the estate of the deceased. So no probate = no MERP. Whether it is a claim or a lien will depend on your state's laws for property, probate, etc. Like for TX, MERP is a level of class for claims probate system, & MERP is a class 7 claim. So all other classes 1 - 6 are paid first & foremost, so the MERP recovery rates are low. But this is based on the heirs actually going, filing and doing probate. Many folks just don't do probate so MERP seems to be doing a claim or lien by default for those.
But you are outside of probate, so you need to let them know. I'm assuming that you just got a letter on state letterhead that reads something like " we are sorry for your recent loss……the deceased owes the state of whatever $ 64,000 which is due now". It is not a warm & fuzzy letter. Within the letter there should be a timeframe indicated in which you have to respond by a letter or by filling out a form to let MERP know is there are exemptions, exclusions or other hardships that affect the property. A lady bird deed because it falls outside of probate provides for an exemption from any MERP action. Now you can contact the attorney who did the lady bird to do this for you or you could do this on your own (I think you can do this first part on your own). I would suggest that you do a very short 1 page letter to respond to the letter that: "This property (put in the extact address and the parcel # that is it's ID as per your tax assessor) transferred as per a Lady Bird Deed (you need to put exactly what they are called in your state). As such no probate was needed or will be opened. I consider the transfer of the property as per all state laws & statues and not subject to any MERP action. Thank you for your attention to this. All further questions or concerns regarding this must be sent to me in writing at……". Then sign you name as how it reads on the property. Then you mail this letter registered mail with a return registered receipt (this is the green post card). All this will run about $ 8.00 at the post office. In about 8 - 12 days you will get back the signed off post card. This provides for your legal document that you have done what you need to do to establish your position as to your trumping any MERP claim. Put the copy of the letter and the returned post card someplace save. Understand?
Now if after this, they continue to insist you owe MERP, I'd get an attorney. But more likely they will want documentation of the property transfer & for more fun, they will want it within a few days. So try to soon either go on-line to your courthouse records and pay a small fee to download or have mailed to you 2 copies of all the legal on the house. For most it's under $ 5.00 per document too. Some counties don't do on-line so you may have to go to the courthouse. If you're not used to a courthouse and get intimidated, go early about 9/9:30 AM and let the ladies who work the desks in the tax assessor or chancery clerks office guide you - I've found these gals are pro's and love having a older 'auntie" to help out as a break from the steady stream of paralegals & attorney's.Oh take cash too as most courthouses will not take checks from individuals and will place a service fee on credit card charges.
You do want to get a "release of claim or lien" from the state too. This is a form that is specific to the property& it's county that comes from the state. Then go to the courthouse and have it filed on the property/parcel. This just legally establishes that there is no MERP on the property so that there is no issue in the future when you go to sell the property or transfer it to your family.
In a lot of states, MERP has been outsourced to contractors. So some are going through past years or a backlog of deceased Medicaid recipients to try to get recovery $$. MERP contractors - who do this under state contract - get a % of the recovery (in my mom's state it's 16%), so it's very much like an aggressive debt collector rather than the slower state employee doing MERP. Let us know what happens too - we all learn from each other. Good luck.
Can they make me sell the house? or if I sell the house and move to where my kids are, will the make ME pay them the money? There was a will. No assets, no Probate. House is in my name. No liens on property.
MERP -Medicaid estate recovery gets to the heart of the issue of who should pay for long-term care -- the public through the tax-supported Medicaid program, &/or users of long-term care through their personal resources, including those remaining after death. Amounts collected from Medicaid recipients' estates are not insignificant in absolute terms. They do, however, pale next to total Medicaid spending for long-term care.And it's only going to increase, given that Medicaid is available only to those with very limited resources and the state of US economy.
In a way, the fact that so many people are poverty level will decrease the amount of MERP because many heirs will be able to do hardship exemptions.
At my mom's NH wing, there are 9 ladies in their 90's & all of them have 1940-1950's era homes & all have decades of delayed home maintenance to some degree. All but 2 sit empty. I don't think any of them can sell for the assessor value. Just how is MERP going to deal with releasing a claim on something that will never sell at it's supposed value? It's going to be a nightmare to enforce.
Keep in mind and make it your mantra.... HMS is a contractor for the state and not an arm of Texas government, even with the state seal on the letterhead. HMS is a collection agency.
I will suggest that every thing discussed needs to be followed-up in writing and sent certified & return registered mail (the green card). There are tight time-frames on MERP.So you need to be tip-top on timeliness.
If you're not claiming MERP exemptions, and you paid for anything for the house then you need to be planning on filing your own claim for every penny spent & let HMS know that. You get paid first before MERP for it. This works only if the house is empty.
MERP is a class 7 claim in TX - that means there are 6 other levels of claims that get paid first. If you are appointed you can get paid for management of the estate (class 2). Your expenses on the property go in this category. Between these 2 that alone could eat up the value of the estate. With zero left for HMS.
Part of your sticky issue might be the whole "no will" aspect. Maybe when it's "intestate" it changes how MERP get's done. If there is no surviving heir, all property goes to the State under property code 71.001. You may just need to get an elder care attorney to work all this out for you and soon.
As far as the value of the house, go to Zillow or Trulia to see what the comps are for houses nearby that are similar and sold within the past 90 days to see if it's in the 18K range. This might be hard because that is so low it isn't worth data collecting. Getting the appraisal changed can be done - I did it for my mom & had reduced over 50K due to major foundation issues but I went in with photos and 3 estimates for foundation and another set for interior repairs all from licensed co. They checked to see if they each had a current license too. They were quite nice about it as really make much tax difference since in most county/cities 65+ taxes are frozen or have a homestead exemption. Good luck.
TX is an easy probate state. The claims against the estate are classified in order of payment: class 1 is funeral, burial, recent medical; class 2 is maintenance of the estate; MERP is a class 7, etc.
But before you deal with probate, the main & VERY IMPORTANT issue is whether or not MERP will even file a claim against the estate for Medicaid NH $$ recovery.
You or whomever is the representative of the estate (whomever is going to be the executor once probate is opened) need to send a letter to TX DADS notifying them that you are either going to file or an exemption &/or your own claim for expenses against the estate. This needs to be done ASAP - keep is short with all your contact information. As per State of Tx website: "Personal representatives of estates who elect to provide notice to the State for presentation of an estate recovery claim should send the notice to the following address:
Accounts Receivable
Mail Code E-411
Texas Department of Aging and Disability Services
P.O. Box 149030
Austin, TX 78714-9030"
If you are doing an exemption, there will be forms MERP will send you to fill out. What exactly depends on which exemption you are claiming.
For claims for $ spent on the home it's different. Remember, once they are in LTC/NH there was no $ to be used on the home as ALL money less personal needs of $ 30-60 a month was paid to the facility. So you or whomever in the family paid for everything for the house even though it is in not in your name. Who paid the insurance, property taxes, yard work, other stuff? Any one who paid can file for recoup (accounts recovery) of their $ which will be deducted from the total that MERP wants. Also if you spent $ on any care before she went into the NH that kept her from going into the NH, that $ can be deducted too. MERP needs to get a letter from anyone who is going to file their own recoup claim.
For example, the insurance, taxes and repairs for the past 2 years is 15K and your have cancelled checks and receipts to prove it. Also for 3 years before she went into the NH you (you paid & not out of her $$) paid for a home health service to come to her home to help her. That cost you 10K but it kept her from going to the NH for those 3 years. So you have your own claim for 25K that will need to be deducted from MERP.
By letting MERP know you have & will file for an exemption or a claim, they can evaluate whether or not it is even worth doing a recoup on your mom's estate. For a property with a low value & a claim it's not really cost effective for MERP to spend the time. In TX the MERP recoup % is low compared with other states.
Again, you need to let MERP know asap you will file a claim or an exemption. The exemption list is on their website:
www.dads.state.tx.us/services/estate_recovery/
My gut feeling is MERP doesn't persue claim unless they can recoup a clean $100/150K+ from the sale of the home. MERP is done by contractors so a small estate w/an expense claim, low value home is going to take too much time to be worth it. It's the same level of paperwork for a 50K house as for one that has a value of 200K, I know what I'd go for.......
When you go to probate, you will need to have an "Authorization and MERP Certification - July, 2009 edition" form done in order for the probate judge to distribute the house as per the will. You also need this done to have a clear title. It's a simple 1 page form that you or your probate attorney faxes to the MERP contractor - they are super quick with a 3 day turn-around.
If it's a really small estate (with a will and just the house and a small amount of $) and you get the MERP certification/release form above, you might not even need to go to probate. You could go the muniment of title route on the house, so the house goes into whomever is named in the will to inheirit the house. All these things are sticky and you really should get a probate attorney who practices in the county where the property is to handle it for you as you want it to be done right. It will make it all go smooth and alot less pressure. If you have the paperwork together (death certificate, will, inventory, MERP forms) the actual attorney time is small. I've been executrix twice and the attorney's fees were around 3% to 7% of the estate or maybe $ 150 -300 hr which is well worth it. Good luck and get that letter off.
Take care,
Carol