Will Medicaid Take Mom's Life Insurance From Me?

That depends on the state’s Medicaid estate recovery program. Some states only seek recovery against the beneficiary’s probate estate and others against non-probate property as well. Life insurance does not go through probate if it has a named beneficiary, which is the situation in your case. So, the policy would only be subject to claim if your estate has expanded estate recovery.

Our section on Key State Medicaid Information will give you a preliminary answer, but confirm it by contacting a local elder law attorney or your state’s Medicaid agency.

Learn more about how Medicaid estate recovery works in the following articles:

• Medicaid Estate Recovery and Payback Rules
• Protecting Your House From Medicaid Estate Recovery

Harry S. Margolis practices elder law, estate, and special needs planning in Boston and Wellesley, Massachusetts. He is the founder of ElderLawAnswers.com and answers consumer questions about estate planning issues here and at AskHarry.info.