What happens to your parents' house when they go to a nursing home?

Asked by: Gustave Keebler  |  Last update: January 18, 2026
Score: 4.1/5 (23 votes)

If your parents go into a care home, their house is usually safe from being taken while they're alive, but it may need to be sold after their deaths. Your parents' primary residence is considered an exempt asset, so it's not counted if they apply for Medicaid to pay for the care home.

What happens to my parents' house if they go into a nursing home?

The nursing home will not be entitled to your father's property unless your father gives it to them. You father needs to prepare a will or trust designating who the property is to go to.

Will I lose my house if I go into a nursing home?

Nursing homes do not take houses. Medicaid applicants are allowed to own a house and a car. After the recipient dies, the state can recover its costs from the sale of the house. An exception would be if a child or grandchild has lived in the house as a caregiver for at least two years.

How to keep your house if you go into a nursing home?

  1. Why protect assets from nursing home costs and Medicaid? ...
  2. 6 ways to protect assets from nursing home costs. ...
  3. Purchase long-term care insurance. ...
  4. Purchase a Medicaid-compliant annuity. ...
  5. Form a life estate. ...
  6. Put your assets in an irrevocable trust. ...
  7. Consider financial gifts to family members.

Does a nursing home take all your assets?

If the patient has long term care insurance, that insurance will pay for a portion or all of the cost for the term of the policy. No one “takes” assets from the patient; the nursing home simply requires payment for its services if the patient intends to reside in the nursing home.

What Happens to Mom's Home When She Goes Into a Nursing Home

33 related questions found

Can a nursing home take your house if you have a will?

Can a Nursing Home Take Your House? Nursing homes cannot take a person's home or require them to sell it to pay for care. However, people who use Medicaid to cover nursing home costs are at risk of their home being seized by the government upon their death to reimburse the expenses.

What happens to your bills when you go into a nursing home?

If you have existing unpaid medical bills, and go into a nursing home and receive Medicaid, the program may allow you to use some or all of your current monthly income to pay the old bills, rather than just to be paid over to the nursing home, providing you still owe these old medical bills and you meet a few other ...

How to protect parents' assets from nursing homes?

If you want to protect assets from nursing home costs, consider establishing an irrevocable Trust. Setting up a Trust will transfer ownership of the cash to the Trust account, which is managed by a trustee. As a result, the money is no longer considered part of your estate, but rather a property of the Trust.

Will Medicare take my house if I go into a nursing home?

Can Medicare take your home to cover nursing home expenses? Medicare can't take your home and doesn't cover nursing home room and board. However, a Medicaid lien can be placed on your home, and they can sell it once you pass to recover the funds.

What happens when you run out of money in a nursing home?

If you have no money, Medicaid is often the primary option for covering nursing home costs. Other potential solutions include: Veterans Benefits: Veterans and their spouses may qualify for financial assistance. Reverse Mortgages: Seniors who own their homes may use a reverse mortgage to cover nursing home expenses.

What happens to your savings when you go into a nursing home?

Nursing homes do not take assets from people who move into them. But nursing care can be expensive, and paying the costs can require spending your income, drawing from savings, and even liquidating assets. Neither the nursing home nor the government will seize your home to cover expenses while you are living in care.

Does Medicare pay for nursing homes?

Medicare and most health insurance plans don't pay for long-term care. in a nursing home. Even if Medicare doesn't cover your nursing home care, you'll still need Medicare to cover your hospital care, doctor's services, drugs and medical supplies while you're in a nursing home.

Can I sell my mom's house if she is in a nursing home?

If a parent has become incapacitated, he or she needs to have identified – through a power of attorney – someone who can act on their behalf, for the sale to take place. If the caregiver has no legal authority, then the caregiver has absolutely no right to sell the home.

Should you sell your house before going into a nursing home?

Note: California stands apart from the other states. CA eliminated their Medicaid (Medi-Cal) asset limit effective 1/1/24. Medi-Cal applicants and beneficiaries can have unlimited assets and still be eligible for Medi-Cal. They could sell their home and it have no impact on their eligibility.

What happens if a parent refuses to go to a nursing home?

Under most circumstances, they can't legally be forced to live in a nursing home. However, if you can prove their judgment is impaired or they're unable to care for themselves, you may be able to move them without their consent.

Do nursing homes take your social security check?

A nursing home can be appointed a patient's representative payee. This means the facility can directly accept federal benefit payments from the Social Security Administration, Department of Veterans Affairs, Department of Defense, Railroad Retirement Board, and the Office of Personnel Management on a resident's behalf.

Can a nursing home take your inheritance?

Other states, such as California and Texas, prohibit Estate Recovery after the surviving spouse dies. The only exception is if the surviving spouse was also a Medicaid recipient.

How much of your assets can a nursing home take?

It should be stated at the outset that nursing homes and other similar facilities do not “take” people's assets – although it can feel that way! The reality is, any person in need of a nursing home stay is required to pay for the services provided.

Can a nursing home take your house if it is in a trust?

Once your home is in the trust, it's no longer considered part of your personal assets, thereby protecting it from being used to pay for nursing home care. However, this must be done in compliance with Medicaid's look-back period, typically 5 years before applying for Medicaid benefits.

When can a nursing home take your house?

And while a nursing home itself cannot take your home, those relying on Medicaid may have their home seized by the federal government after passing away as the government's means of recouping their investment in your care.

Is it too late to protect assets from nursing home?

Is It Too Late To Save Assets If A Loved One Is Already In A Nursing Home? The only time it's too late to try to save resources when someone is already in a nursing home is if you have already spent every last dollar on nursing home bills.

How many years can a nursing home go back and retrieve funds?

There are also two state exceptions when it comes to the Look-Back Period – California and New York. There is no Look-Back Period for HCBS Waivers in California, and it's 30 months (2.5 years) for Nursing Home Medicaid, although that will be phased out by July 2026, leaving California with no Look-Back Period.

Are you responsible for your parents' nursing home debt?

Again, usually not. Federal law prohibits a nursing home from asking or requiring a third party to be a financial guarantor — in other words, a financially liable co-signer.

Can a nursing home override a power of attorney?

Can a Nursing Home Override a Power Of Attorney? Generally, a nursing home cannot override the decisions made by an agent with power of attorney. The purpose of a POA is to give a trusted individual legal authority to act on the principal's behalf when they can no longer make decisions.

Who pays for most nursing home care?

Each state's Medicaid program covers approximately 70 percent of nursing home care. Long-term care insurance can also pay for nursing home care, but relatively few people have it. The average cost of a nursing home is over $90,000 per year but this varies state to state.