Frank and Rosa's Bougainvilleas Never Made it Into the Living Trust

Why Medi-Cal Estate Recovery Happens in California

In California, Medi-Cal may cover long-term nursing home care during a person’s lifetime, but in certain situations the state can seek repayment after death. Whether a home is protected depends on how it is titled and whether it was properly transferred into a living trust.

Two Different Legal Questions Families Often Confuse

Frank and Rosa worked the night shift at the Van Nuys Post Office for thirty years. They bought a little two-bedroom in West Los Angeles. Raised two daughters. Retired. Both got dementia. Same cruel luck.

Their daughters, Maria and Elena, moved them into a nursing home. The house sat empty. The bougainvillea kept blooming.

"The house is in a trust," Maria told Elena. "Mom and Dad saw a lawyer."

They did. But they never recorded the deed. Life got busy. Frank was already forgetting things. The paperwork sat in a drawer.

How a Living Trust Could Have Protected Frank and Rosa’s Home

If Frank and Rosa’s home had been properly transferred into their living trust, it would generally pass to their children outside of probate. In many California estate plans, a funded living trust is used to help avoid court involvement and reduce exposure to estate recovery claims.

Now here is what matters.

Most people mix this up. Here is the difference:

While you are alive: Medi-Cal does not count your house against you if you say you plan to return home. Maria said it for Frank and Rosa. They qualified for benefits. The house was safe—for now.

After you die: The state can take your house to pay back your nursing home costs—unless your house is in a trust. Frank and Rosa's house was not in the trust. So the state can take it.

That is the whole problem. One missed step. No trust = probate. Probate = state gets the house.

What Families Should Do Before It’s Too Late

The house was worth $1.2 million. The state will sell it, take what it is owed for Frank and Rosa's care, and give whatever is left to Maria and Elena.

Maybe nothing. Maybe a little. Not the house. Not the bougainvillea.

Frank and Rosa did everything right—except the last thing. They saw the lawyer. They signed the trust. They just never recorded the deed.

Now their daughters will pay for it.

Call for a free 15-minute consultation. Because family matters.