“Will Medicaid take my house?” is one of the first questions families ask when a loved one moves into a nursing home or assisted living. The fear is real but the full answer is more specific than most people expect. In Florida, Medicaid can recover money from a deceased person’s estate, and yes, a home can be at risk. But recovery is limited to certain assets, follows specific rules, and can often be avoided with planning that starts well before death.
This guide explains exactly how Florida’s Medicaid Estate Recovery Program (MERP) works, which assets it can and cannot reach, what happens to your home after a Medicaid recipient dies, and the legal strategies families use to protect property starting with the one tool that eliminates the home risk most of the time: the Florida Lady Bird Deed.
What Is Medicaid Estate Recovery? (MERP in Plain English)
Medicaid is a government health insurance program that pays for nursing home care, assisted living, and other long-term care services for people who meet income and asset limits. When the Medicaid recipient dies, federal law requires every state to try to recover that is, get back some of what Medicaid paid out. Florida does this through the Medicaid Estate Recovery Program, commonly called MERP.
MERP is not a punishment. It’s the mechanism Congress built into the Medicaid program to keep it solvent. Florida’s MERP is run by the Agency for Health Care Administration (AHCA), which files claims against the deceased recipient’s estate to recoup Medicaid spending.
Which Benefits Trigger MERP Recovery in Florida?
Florida MERP can seek recovery for Medicaid benefits paid on behalf of recipients who were age 55 or older at the time they received care, for the following types of services:
- Nursing home care (skilled nursing facility stays)
- Assisted living services paid through Medicaid waiver programs
- Home and community-based long-term care services (such as home health aides paid by Medicaid)
- Hospital and prescription drug services received while in a nursing home
MERP does not apply to Medicaid recipients under 55, or to people who received only short-term or basic Medicaid health coverage unrelated to long-term care.
The One Thing Most Florida Families Get Wrong
Most families assume MERP is an immediate threat that Medicaid will place a lien on the house the moment a loved one is admitted to a nursing home. That is almost never how it works in Florida.
MERP does not recover assets during life. Recovery happens after the Medicaid recipient dies, and only through a process that follows Florida’s probate rules. Understanding that timing and what probate actually means is the key to understanding the entire MERP system.
How Florida’s Medicaid Estate Recovery Program Works
Florida’s MERP is built on one foundational rule that most people don’t know: the state can only recover from assets that pass through probate. This single rule changes everything about how MERP operates — and what families can do about it.
The Probate-Only Rule Why It Matters More Than Anything Else
Probate is the court-supervised legal process used to settle a deceased person’s estate — paying debts and distributing assets to heirs. Florida’s MERP can only assert a claim against assets that go through this process. When someone dies in Florida, MERP steps in as a creditor in the probate proceeding and files a claim for the amount Medicaid paid.
This matters enormously because of what it leaves out. Many assets in Florida pass to heirs without going through probate at all and those assets are generally outside MERP’s reach entirely. MERP cannot follow the money once it has passed through a properly structured transfer that avoids probate.
Florida does not use “expanded estate recovery,” which some states use to reach non-probate assets. Florida sticks to the narrower, probate-only approach. That limitation is what makes planning possible.
What MERP Cannot Reach
Under Florida’s probate-only rule, the following assets are generally not subject to MERP recovery:
- Assets held in a properly funded revocable living trust these pass to beneficiaries outside probate entirely
- Property titled in joint ownership with right of survivorship — it passes automatically to the surviving co-owner
- Bank accounts and investment accounts with a named payable-on-death (POD) or transfer-on-death (TOD) beneficiary
- Life insurance proceeds paid to a named beneficiary (not the estate)
- Property transferred by a Lady Bird Deed (enhanced life estate deed) it passes directly at death, outside the probate estate
The common thread: when an asset has a built-in transfer mechanism that bypasses the probate court, MERP generally cannot reach it.
Can Medicaid Take Your House in Florida?
This is the question most families actually want answered. The short answer is: it depends on how the home is titled and whether it goes through probate. The home is not automatically protected but it is also not automatically at risk.
When Your Home IS at Risk
MERP can assert a claim against your home if all three of these conditions are true at the time of your death:
- The home is titled solely in your name (individual ownership, not in a trust or with a co-owner with right of survivorship)
- No Lady Bird Deed or other probate-avoidance tool was recorded
- The home passes through probate meaning it becomes part of your probate estate
If a home meets all three conditions, MERP will file a claim in the probate proceeding for the amount Florida Medicaid paid. That claim is paid before heirs receive anything. In some cases, the home must be sold to satisfy the claim.
When Your Home Is NOT at Risk
The home is generally protected from MERP recovery even if the owner received Medicaid long-term care — in the following situations:
- The owner left a surviving spouse. Florida law blocks MERP recovery completely while a surviving spouse is alive. MERP cannot file a claim if a spouse survives the Medicaid recipient.
- A minor child under 21 survives the recipient. Recovery is blocked until the minor reaches adulthood.
- A disabled or blind child of any age survives the recipient. Recovery is blocked in this case as well.
- The home was titled in a properly structured trust before death. It passes outside probate, outside MERP’s reach.
- A Lady Bird Deed was recorded before death. The home transfers directly to the named beneficiary at death, never entering the probate estate, so MERP has nothing to claim against.
- The home was jointly owned with right of survivorship. Ownership passes to the surviving co-owner automatically, without probate.
Florida homestead law adds a layer of complexity here. The home may be exempt from Medicaid eligibility rules while the recipient is alive meaning they don’t have to sell it to qualify for Medicaid. But that exemption does not automatically carry over to protection from estate recovery after death. Homestead status matters, but it does not make the home automatically safe from MERP. The key question is always: does the home go through probate?
What Happens After a Medicaid Recipient Dies Step by Step
When a Medicaid recipient dies, a specific sequence unfolds. Understanding each step helps heirs respond correctly and avoid mistakes that make a MERP claim harder to challenge.
The Notice of Intent to Recover
After the Medicaid recipient dies, Florida’s AHCA will typically send the estate a Notice of Intent to Recover — sometimes called a MERP notice or an estate recovery notice. This notice states the amount Florida Medicaid paid on behalf of the deceased recipient and signals that the state intends to file a claim against the estate.
The notice includes a deadline. Missing that deadline can waive your right to challenge the claim, negotiate it, or apply for a hardship waiver. The notice is not a final judgment — it’s the opening of a negotiation process — but it must be taken seriously and responded to on time.
What Heirs Should Do When They Receive a Notice
- Do not ignore it. A non-response is treated as an acceptance of the claim.
- Check whether any exemptions apply. Was there a surviving spouse? A minor or disabled child? Was the home transferred by Lady Bird Deed? If any exemption applies, it may bar MERP recovery entirely.
- Verify the amount claimed. MERP claims sometimes include billing errors, duplicate charges, or services that don’t qualify for recovery. The amount on the notice is not automatically correct.
- Determine whether probate assets actually exist. If all assets passed through non-probate transfers (trusts, beneficiary designations, Lady Bird Deeds), there may be no probate estate at all — and nothing for MERP to claim against.
- Consult a Florida probate attorney. MERP claims are time-sensitive and legal in nature. An attorney can evaluate the claim, identify grounds for reduction or exemption, and handle the response.
Can You Challenge or Reduce a MERP Claim?
Yes. A MERP claim is not automatically valid or final. It can be challenged on several grounds:
- The amount is wrong due to billing errors or included services that don’t qualify
- An exemption applies (surviving spouse, minor child, disabled child)
- The assets claimed are not actually part of the probate estate
- A hardship waiver applies (see next section)
The personal representative (the person appointed by the probate court to manage the estate — sometimes called the executor) is responsible for handling the MERP claim during probate. They should not simply pay the amount stated in the notice without reviewing it carefully.
Hardship Waivers: When MERP Recovery Can Be Reduced or Waived
Florida allows heirs and personal representatives to apply for a hardship waiver a formal request to reduce or eliminate MERP recovery because enforcing the claim would cause serious hardship to surviving family members. A hardship waiver is not an exemption that applies automatically. It must be applied for, documented, and reviewed by AHCA.
Who May Qualify for a Hardship Waiver?
MERP hardship waivers in Florida are granted in limited circumstances. Common situations that may qualify include:
- An heir who lived in the Medicaid recipient’s home before the recipient’s death and would become homeless if the home were sold to satisfy the MERP claim
- A family farm or small business that would be lost or economically destroyed if recovery were enforced
- An heir with limited income and assets for whom the recovery would cause demonstrated financial hardship
- Other compelling equity-based circumstances at the discretion of AHCA
Waivers are not routine they are exception-based decisions. The bar is meaningful hardship, not just preference or inconvenience.
How the Waiver Process Works
The application must be filed within the deadline stated in the Notice of Intent to Recover. It requires documentation: financial records, evidence of hardship, and supporting statements. AHCA reviews the application and issues a decision. That decision can be appealed if it’s denied.
A hardship waiver is a last resort, not a planning strategy. Relying on a waiver instead of planning is risky because waivers are not guaranteed, the process is time-limited, and the documentation burden falls entirely on the heirs during an already difficult time. The better path is protecting the home before the Medicaid recipient dies.
How to Protect Your Home from Medicaid Estate Recovery in Florida
The most reliable way to protect a home from MERP recovery is to ensure it never enters the probate estate in the first place. Florida offers several legal tools that accomplish this. The key is to act before the Medicaid recipient dies — most of these tools cannot be used after death.
Lady Bird Deed and Medicaid Estate Recovery
The Lady Bird Deed formally called an enhanced life estate deed is the most commonly used tool in Florida for protecting a home from Medicaid estate recovery. Here is how it works:
The homeowner signs a deed that names a beneficiary who will receive the property at death. But unlike a standard deed transfer, the homeowner retains full control during their lifetime: they can sell the property, mortgage it, change the beneficiary, or revoke the deed entirely without asking the beneficiary’s permission. The beneficiary has no interest in the property until the owner dies.
When the owner dies, the property transfers automatically and immediately to the named beneficiary, outside the probate process. Because it never enters the probate estate, MERP has no basis to file a claim against it. The claim must be filed in probate and if the home isn’t in probate, there is no claim to file.
The Lady Bird Deed also preserves the homestead tax exemption, the Save Our Homes assessment cap, and Medicaid eligibility (because the owner retains the right to sell, the transfer is not counted as an improper asset transfer under Medicaid rules).
This is why the Lady Bird Deed is often described as the single most powerful and cost-effective Medicaid estate recovery protection tool available to Florida homeowners.
Revocable Living Trust and MERP
A revocable living trust is a legal arrangement where you transfer your assets including your home into a trust that you control during your lifetime. When you die, the trust distributes those assets to your named beneficiaries without going through probate court.
Because a properly funded trust avoids probate entirely, the assets inside the trust are generally not subject to MERP recovery. Florida does not use expanded estate recovery, so it cannot reach trust assets that transfer outside probate.
Important: the trust must be properly funded — meaning the home and other assets must actually be retitled into the trust’s name before death. A trust that was never funded with the home does not protect the home. The home still goes through probate if title was never changed.
A revocable living trust is not just a Medicaid estate recovery tool — it also avoids probate court fees and delays for all assets in the trust, making it a comprehensive estate planning tool for the entire estate, not just the home.
Surviving Spouse and Dependent Children Built-In Protections
Florida law provides two automatic blocks on MERP recovery that do not require any planning documents:
- Surviving spouse: MERP cannot file a claim while the surviving spouse is alive. Recovery is deferred — not eliminated but in practice, many surviving spouses outlive the recovery window or their own deaths create additional planning opportunities.
- Minor child (under 21): Recovery is blocked until the child turns 21.
- Disabled or blind child of any age: Recovery is blocked as long as the disabled or blind child survives the Medicaid recipient.
These are legal protections, not planning strategies. They apply when the right family circumstances exist. They do not replace proactive planning for families where no surviving spouse or dependent children exist.
What Assets Are (and Are Not) Subject to MERP in Florida?
The clearest way to understand MERP’s reach in Florida is to look at which assets go through probate and which do not.
Assets typically subject to MERP recovery (go through probate):
- Real estate titled solely in the Medicaid recipient’s name, with no Lady Bird Deed or trust in place
- Bank accounts without a payable-on-death beneficiary designation
- Investment accounts without a transfer-on-death designation
- Personal property (vehicles, valuables, furniture) titled in the individual’s name
- Any other asset that must be distributed through a probate court proceeding
Assets typically NOT subject to MERP recovery (bypass probate):
- Property held in a properly funded revocable living trust
- Property transferred by a Lady Bird Deed — passes directly to the named beneficiary at death
- Jointly owned property with right of survivorship — passes automatically to the surviving co-owner
- Bank and investment accounts with named payable-on-death or transfer-on-death beneficiaries
- Life insurance proceeds paid to a named beneficiary (not the estate)
- Retirement accounts (IRA, 401k) with named beneficiaries
The practical lesson: the way assets are titled and structured before death determines what MERP can and cannot reach. Most families have more planning options than they realize — but those options must be exercised before the Medicaid recipient dies.
Frequently Asked Questions About Medicaid Estate Recovery in Florida
Q: Can Medicaid take your house in Florida after you die?
Yes, but only under specific conditions. If your home is titled in your name alone at death, no Lady Bird Deed or trust was recorded, and no surviving spouse or dependent children exist, Medicaid can file a claim against the home through the probate process. If any of those conditions is different, the home may be protected. The title, not just the homestead status, determines the risk.
Q: What is MERP in Florida?
MERP stands for Medicaid Estate Recovery Program. It’s the Florida program run by the Agency for Health Care Administration (AHCA) that seeks repayment from the estates of deceased Medicaid recipients for long-term care benefits paid on their behalf. MERP recovery in Florida applies only to probate assets and only for recipients who were 55 or older when they received care.
Q: Does Medicaid estate recovery apply to homestead property in Florida?
It can. Florida homestead status protects the home from most creditors, but MERP operates differently. The home may be exempt from Medicaid’s asset count during life, but still subject to estate recovery after death if it goes through probate. The way to protect Florida homestead from MERP is to ensure it does not enter the probate estate, typically through a Lady Bird Deed or a trust.
Q: How does a Lady Bird Deed protect against Medicaid estate recovery in Florida?
A Lady Bird Deed transfers your home to a named beneficiary at death, automatically and outside the probate process. Because MERP can only file claims in probate, and the home never enters probate, there is no claim to assert. You keep full control of the home during your lifetime. A properly drafted and recorded Lady Bird Deed is the most cost-effective tool available to most Florida homeowners for this purpose.
Q: What is a Notice of Intent to Recover, and what should I do if I receive one?
A Notice of Intent to Recover is a formal letter from Florida’s AHCA stating that the state intends to file a MERP claim against a deceased Medicaid recipient’s estate. It includes the amount MERP intends to recover and a deadline to respond. Do not ignore it. Contact a Florida probate attorney promptly to verify whether any exemptions apply, whether the amount is accurate, and whether a hardship waiver is available. Missing the response deadline can waive your right to challenge the claim.
Q: Who is exempt from Medicaid estate recovery in Florida?
MERP recovery is blocked when a surviving spouse is alive, when a minor child under 21 survives the recipient, or when a disabled or blind child of any age survives the recipient. Recovery may also be reduced or waived through a hardship waiver. Beyond these automatic exemptions, recovery can be avoided entirely through proactive planning (Lady Bird Deed, trust, beneficiary designations) that keeps assets out of the probate estate.
Q: Can a revocable living trust protect assets from Medicaid estate recovery in Florida?
Yes — if the trust is properly funded. Florida’s MERP recovery is limited to probate assets. Assets held in a funded revocable trust do not go through probate, so they are generally outside MERP’s reach. The critical step is retitling assets (especially the home) into the trust’s name before death. A trust that was created but never funded does not protect the home from going through probate.
Q: Can a MERP claim be challenged or negotiated?
Yes. A MERP notice is not a final judgment. The amount can be wrong due to billing errors or included services that don’t qualify for recovery. Exemptions may apply that weren’t considered. Probate assets may be fewer than the state assumed. A hardship waiver may reduce the claim. A Florida probate attorney can review the notice, identify grounds for challenge, and negotiate on behalf of the estate.
Q: Is there a time limit on Medicaid estate recovery in Florida?
MERP must follow Florida probate creditor claim rules and deadlines. If no probate is opened because the deceased’s assets all passed through non-probate mechanisms (trust, Lady Bird Deed, beneficiary designations), MERP generally has no vehicle to recover at all. The notice of intent has a response deadline that heirs must meet to preserve their rights to contest, reduce, or waive the claim.
Talk to a Florida Estate Planning Attorney About MERP
Medicaid estate recovery in Florida is real but it is not inevitable. The families who lose their home to a MERP claim are almost always families who did not know that a Lady Bird Deed or a properly structured trust could have prevented it entirely. The families who protect their homes are the ones who talked to an attorney while there was still time to plan.
If a loved one is receiving Medicaid long-term care benefits, or if you are doing your own estate planning and want to make sure your home stays protected, Attorney Yanitza Schoonover can review your situation and explain your options in plain English or Spanish. There are no surprises on fees every service is priced as a flat fee, confirmed in writing before work begins.
Schedule a free consultation to discuss your situation. Or call directly at (305) 299-7496.
