Saturday, August 15, 2020

Inheriting house with medicaid liens

 

https://www.avvo.com/attorney-answers/53548-wi-jay-nixon-1529181/answers.html

Father died, owes for hospital and nursing home. Will they put a lien on house?  Father died and as a result the house is being left to all 3 sons but they agree one son can have it.. house is under 50 thou. Do they need to go to probate to put it in the son's name?  The father also has about a 4000. Nursing home bill and about a 9000. Hospital bill. Medicaid was never involved. Can they put a lien on the house or are the bills not their responsibility? If they are and a lien is put on the house is there a time limit when that lien will expire?

Jay’s Answer (Jay K. Nixon, Probate Attorney with Offices in Kenosha & Janesville, WI)

Adding to the answers above, which are accurate, any creditor can place a lien against the house, not just Medicaid. Properly docketed small claims judgments will accomplish the same thing. There is, however, a chance that the person inheriting could fight that in bankruptcy by moving in and then claiming a homestead interest, but that is far from a sure thing, complicated by the fact that others also stand to inherit an interest in the property. You need counsel who is familiar both with bankruptcy and probate law for this one.

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