When a Medi-Cal recipient dies, the state will attempt to recover from the recipient’s estate, what the state paid for that person’s care during his or her lifetime. Before January 1, 2017, the term “estate” referred to any assets in the recipient’s name at the time of death. As of January 1, 2017, as the result of SB 833, which was signed into law by Governor Brown on June 27, 2016, the state has taken the definition of “estate” to mean a probate estate.
A probate estate is an estate that is being processed through a court action in probate court. If you do not have an estate that is subject to probate when you die, there can be no state recovery. A revocable living trust will avoid probate. For instance, if you transfer your home to your revocable living trust and then you die, your home will be transferred to your named beneficiaries of the trust, without the need of a probate court action. If you do not transfer title of your home to your trust, and your name alone is on the deed, a probate of your home will be required when you die. The state could then recover against your home.
If you hold title to your home in joint tenancy and then you die, title to your home will vest in the surviving joint tenant without a probate court action, and there will be no state recovery. However, on the death of the surviving joint tenant, a probate court proceeding will be required if the surviving person did not put title in a trust, or did not add another joint tenant to the deed. So the easiest way to avoid Medi-Cal recovery, is to avoid probate.