Can a spouse keep the marital home if the other spouse has to enter into a long-term facility?
Many families are concerned that if a spouse enters a long term care facility, then the marital home will be eventually lost. Medicaid has no intention of evicting the at home spouse (also known as the Community Spouse). Nor does Medicaid require the at home spouse to sell the home and apply the proceeds toward long term care costs. What Medicaid can do, under the veil of estate recovery, is place a “lien” of claim on the subject premises. When the Community Spouse passes away, or when the Community Spouse sells the house, then Medicaid can demand to be reimbursed for all monies expended on behalf of the ailing spouse.
