Nevada Medicaid & An Estate
Nevada Medicaid must be notified every time an estate is opened in Nevada and it has the right to get paid back whatever it has paid for the Decedent’s care. To make matters worse, health care providers have a year to bill Nevada Medicaid so while Nevada Medicaid’s lien might be small at the time the estate is opened, it could be larger by the time the estate is ready for distribution.
Fortunately, Nevada Medicaid will settle their claim for full payment at any time in the probate process and once they settle, they will not hold the estate liable for future bills that come and Nevada Medicaid has to pay. In some cases family members are financially able to pay-off Nevada Medicaid for what it owed at the time the Decedent dies (or shortly thereafter) and then don’t have to worry about later bills coming in to increase the claim of Nevada Medicaid. This is just one of many examples in the probate process in which, if the family is able, a payment made at the beginning of the probate process can reduce the ultimate liability of the estate.
A further complication is that Nevada Medicaid can claim against a second to die spouse if the first to die spouse received Nevada Medicaid benefits. Let's say John and Mary own a home together. John dies first and Medicare has a claim against his estate which only consists of the house he owns with Mary, Medicaid will not claim against the house until Mary dies. Then it will seek to get paid back for benefits it provided to John when Mary dies.
Practice Tip: In this Mary and John example, Nevada Medicaid will almost certainly choose NOT to file a lien against the house, but to assert the claim when the house is probated. Some clients, expecting to receive the proceeds from the sale of Mary's house, may be shocked to learn there is an effective lien against the house even though a lien search will NOT show any lien.
So if Nevada Medicaid doesn't lien the house, what happens if there is no probate? In the John and Mary example, when Mary dies, if the house is in a trust, the successor trustee will deed the house to a trust beneficiary or sell it. How does Nevada Medicaid assert its claim? The generally prudent practice for a Successor Trustee is to publish a Notice to Creditors when the person who set up the trust dies. This shortens the deadline for creditors to file claims, usually to not more than 90 days from first publication for creditors not known to the Successor Trustee. Nevada Medicaid will see this publication and assert its claim against the house. If the Successor Trustee doesn't publish this Notice to Creditors, Nevada Medicaid could assert a claim later against the Successor Trustee or trust beneficiaries who benefited from the sale of the house.
Additional Practice Tip: When a probate petition is filed, Nevada Medicaid must be sent a copy of the first page of the petition, a copy of the death certificate, and notice of the hearing on the petition. If the death certificate shows that the Decedent died widowed, the Nevada Medicaid staff will follow up with a request for information on the first to die spouse so it is helpful to provide that information to Nevada Medicaid when first mailing them the documents above.
Nevada Medicaid Is Different Than Medicare
Medicare is a federal program that is considered an “earned” benefit so Medicare usually does NOT have a right to get paid back for Decedent’s bills they paid. (Medicare only has the right to get paid back if the medical bills were incurred because of a personal injury—whether resulting in death or not—AND a settlement or judgment was paid because of the injury or death. But if a person dies of cancer or a heart attack or a stroke Medicare doesn’t have a right to get paid back out of their estate.)
Discounts on Nevada Uncontested Probate
We offer substantial discounts from statutory attorney fees in all Nevada uncontested probates and for uncontested California probates over $400,000.