Help With Estate Recovery

Is it still possible with Medicaid benefits?

When a person receives long term care in a medical facility and does not return home before his or her passing, the state may seek to recover money for the Medicaid benefits that the person received. This is referred to as "estate recovery" and involves the process of recovering up to the total amount spent on the person's medical care and all services under Medicaid. This money is recovered from the individual's estate. Although estate recovery may affect many people who have received Medicaid benefits, there are exceptions. One such exception is a rule that a state must provide for exemptions in situations where estate recovery would present an undue hardship. In New York, a person who had a long term care insurance policy will also not be affected by estate recovery.

Would you like to know if your loved one's estate will be affected because he or she received Medicaid benefits? Lead attorney, Steven Melnik, at Melnik Law Group, PLLC can review your particular situation to determine whether Medicaid estate recovery is a possibility. If so, we can help you in filing an appeal to contest this recovery on the grounds of hardship or for another reason. With our experience in Medicaid, long term care and all areas of life care planning, we can offer you advice that is based upon your legal rights and unique goals.

Protecting Your Inheritance - Hold Onto What is Rightfully Yours

To seek an estate recovery, the state may file a claim against the estate. This is essentially a demand for payment based upon the idea that the state believes that the deceased individual owes money for medical services that he or she received. Upon the Medicaid beneficiary's death, the state actually becomes like a creditor in probate court. Inheritance is only received by heirs once priority claims are paid by the estate, and this may include Medicaid. Estate recovery is not allowed in particular situations, including if the decedent is survived by a spouse, has a child who is under 21 or who is permanently blind or disabled, or against a home on which the state placed a lien. Find out whether your loved one's estate may be affected by Medicaid estate recovery. Contact Melnik Law Group, PLLC today, we may be able to help you challenge this recovery to protect your inheritance.