Medi-Cal can bill your family for the care it paid for. Probate is how it reaches the house.
After a Medi-Cal recipient dies, California can seek repayment from the estate. Since 2017 the state can only reach assets that pass through probate. A home already held in a funded living trust does not pass through probate. Trust package $950, funding deed $325 per property.
What is Medi-Cal estate recovery?
When someone who received Medi-Cal dies, the California Department of Health Care Services can ask the estate to repay what the program spent on their care. Families usually learn about it weeks after the funeral, when the letter arrives and the house is the only asset worth anything.
The rules changed on January 1, 2017. For deaths on or after that date, recovery is limited to property that passes through probate, and limited to benefits received at age 55 or older, or at any age while living in a nursing facility. Property that avoids probate, including a home held in a funded living trust, is outside what the state can claim.
That single distinction is why two families with identical homes and identical Medi-Cal histories can end up in completely different places: one keeps the house, the other sells it to satisfy the state.
The line runs through probate
Usually reachable
- A home held in the deceased person’s name alone
- Bank and brokerage accounts with no beneficiary named
- Any asset the family has to take through probate court
- Recovery up to the amount Medi-Cal paid, capped by the estate’s value
Generally outside recovery
- A home transferred into a funded living trust before death
- Property held in joint tenancy that passes to the survivor
- Accounts with a named beneficiary or payable-on-death designation
- Life insurance and retirement accounts with living beneficiaries
One caution people get wrong: a transfer on death (TOD) deed avoids probate, but California law still allows creditor claims against the beneficiary who receives the property that way. It is not the same shield as a funded trust. If avoiding recovery is your goal, ask an attorney before relying on a TOD deed alone.
When the state cannot collect at all
A surviving spouse
No recovery while a surviving spouse or registered domestic partner is alive.
A minor child
No recovery while a surviving child under 21 is living.
A blind or disabled child
No recovery while a surviving child who is blind or disabled is living, at any age.
Hardship waiver
The state can waive or reduce a claim in substantial hardship cases. It must be requested.
Benefits before age 55
Care received before 55 is generally outside recovery, unless in a nursing facility.
Nothing in probate
If no asset passes through probate, there is generally nothing for the state to claim against.
These protections can delay a claim rather than erase it, and each has conditions. We prepare documents at your direction and cannot advise on eligibility, claims, or waivers.
A trust exists. The house was never put in it.
Families come to us holding a binder from an online trust maker or a seminar, convinced the home is protected. The trust names everyone correctly. Nobody ever recorded the deed that moves the house into it.
An unfunded trust does nothing here. The house is still titled in a personal name, so it goes through probate, and probate is exactly where the state’s claim attaches.
We check the recorded deed first, prepare the trust transfer deed for $325 per property, and e-record it with your county. If you have no trust yet, the full package is $950 for one person or $1,500 for a couple.
Four steps, while it is still simple
Check the deed
Find out whose name is actually on title today. We can pull the recorded deed for $30.
Create or update the trust
$950 for one person, $1,500 for a couple, seven documents included.
Record the funding deed
$325 per property, e-recorded with your county, with the change-in-ownership form.
Keep the proof
You receive the stamped deed and the certification of trust the bank will ask for.
Timing matters more than anything else on this page. All of this works before a death. Afterward, the options narrow to claim negotiation and hardship waivers, which is attorney territory.
Explained in Spanish, Vietnamese, and Cantonese
Español
El estado puede reclamar la casa que pasa por la corte de sucesiones. Un fideicomiso con la escritura registrada la mantiene fuera de ese reclamo.
Tiếng Việt
Tiểu bang có thể đòi lại từ căn nhà phải qua probate. Nhà đã sang tên vào living trust nằm ngoài phạm vi đó.
16 questions about Medi-Cal estate recovery
What is Medi-Cal estate recovery?
After a Medi-Cal recipient dies, California can seek repayment from the estate for care the program paid for. For deaths on or after January 1, 2017, the state can only recover from assets that pass through probate.
Can the state take my house?
The state does not seize homes. It files a claim against the estate, and if the house is the only asset in probate, the family often has to sell it to satisfy the claim. A home held in a funded living trust does not pass through probate.
Does a living trust stop Medi-Cal estate recovery?
A funded living trust keeps the home out of probate, and recovery reaches probate assets. The word that matters is funded: the deed transferring the house into the trust must actually be recorded.
What if we have a trust but never recorded the deed?
Then the house is still in a personal name and still goes through probate. This is the most common and most expensive gap we see. The trust transfer deed is $325 per property, e-recorded with your county.
Whose Medi-Cal costs get recovered?
Generally benefits received at age 55 or older, and benefits at any age while living in a nursing facility. Care received before 55 outside a nursing facility is generally not recoverable.
What if there is a surviving spouse?
No recovery takes place while a surviving spouse or registered domestic partner is alive. Planning still matters, because the question returns when the second spouse dies.
What if there is a minor, blind, or disabled child?
No recovery while a surviving child under 21, or a surviving child of any age who is blind or disabled, is living.
Does free Medi-Cal and share-of-cost Medi-Cal both count?
Yes. What matters is that the program paid for covered care, not which category the person was enrolled in. The amount recovered is capped at what the program actually paid and by the value of the estate.
Does a transfer on death deed protect the house?
Not reliably. A TOD deed avoids probate, but California law allows claims against the beneficiary who receives property that way. If avoiding recovery is the goal, ask an attorney before relying on a TOD deed alone.
Does joint tenancy protect the house?
Property held in joint tenancy passes to the surviving owner without probate, which generally places it outside recovery. Joint tenancy carries other consequences, including tax and creditor exposure, so it is not automatically the better choice.
We already got a claim letter. Can you help?
No. Once a claim exists, the work is negotiation, hardship waiver requests, and deadlines, which is attorney territory. As document preparers we can only help protect a home before a death occurs.
How much does the state usually claim?
It varies with the care received and can reach tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars. You can request a statement of the amount paid from the Department of Health Care Services for a small fee.
Do heirs have to notify the state after a death?
Yes. California requires notice of the death of a Medi-Cal recipient to the Department of Health Care Services within 90 days, with a copy of the death certificate. Missing that deadline can create penalties.
Will putting the house in a trust affect current Medi-Cal eligibility?
A revocable living trust does not change what the person owns, so it is generally treated as their asset while they are alive. Eligibility questions belong with a Medi-Cal planning attorney or a county eligibility worker, not with us.
What does it cost to protect the home?
The living trust package is $950 for one person or $1,500 for a couple and includes seven documents. The funding deed is $325 per property. Recording, notary, and county fees are separate and quoted in writing.
How fast can this be done?
Documents are ready in 3 to 5 business days. You sign before any notary, anywhere, and we e-record the deed with your county the same business day.
Protect the house while you still can
Trust package $950. Funding deed $325 per property. Ready in 3 to 5 business days, all 58 California counties.
TruPoint Legal LLC, 434 Blossom Hill Rd, San Jose, CA 95123. TruPoint Legal is a Registered and Bonded Legal Document Assistant (LDA #268, Santa Clara County). We are not attorneys, do not give legal advice, and prepare documents solely at the client’s direction. Nothing here is advice about Medi-Cal eligibility, an existing claim, or a hardship waiver. Estate recovery rules and exemptions change; confirm current rules with the Department of Health Care Services or an attorney.