Are Remaindermen Considered Owners of a Life Estate Property

[MRK95]

My question involves real estate located in the State of: FLORIDA

I'M NAMED AS A REMAINDERMEN FOR MY MOTHER'S LIFE ESTATE PROPERTY DEED WHICH IS HER HOME ONLY. DO I HAVE ANY OWNERSHIP RIGHTS TO THIS PROPERTY?

[lwpat]

A life estate is full of problems and Florida has some unusual laws and I am not up on them. Generally you have no right to use the property until she dies but you do "own" the property. Medicaid can also lien the property after she dies assuming she gets benefits. Putting the property in a life estate does not totally avoid the lien depending on state law. You also need to consider the insurnace and property taxes. You need to be a named insured with a provision that it cannot be cancelled without notice to you.

You also need to consider what happens to the property should she no longer live there, like going into a ursing home.

[jk]

Medicaid can also lien the property after she dies assuming she gets benefits. Putting the property in a life estate does not totally avoid the lien depending on state law. .

Can you explain that one lwpat? Since a life estate terminates at death, there is no value after death. The only value to the life estate is during the life of the grantee and if the grantee does live there, there is no other value to the life estate. There is no ownership of the property, merely the right to live there.

The only monetary value to the estate is possible rental or sale income during the life of the grantee. If this is not realized, how can the property be leined?

I can understand that if the grantee were to enter a nursing home, there would be a value to the life estate that would have to be considered as an asset of the grantee and that may become a debt of the grantee or their estate but...

[aaron]

He's describing how Medicaid clawback laws may enable a state to ignore an inter vivos transfer in order to recover funds from certain trusts or jointly owned properties, annuities, life insurance policies, or life estates. States are increasingly aggressive about pursuing reimbursement of Medicare funds.

[jk]

I was under the understanding there was a standard 5 year rule concerning such an action. Was I misunderstanding or have they been whittleing away at that time constraint?

and if such an action would be considered an attempt to protect the assets, would the Medicare folks do more than simply lein the property? Would they not actively seek the funds from the (possibly forced) sale of the property rather than wait?

[aaron]

We don't know the timing of the transaction, or even its purpose.

[lwpat]

The five years is a "lookback" rule than can keep a person from receiving benefits, and has nothing to do with Medicaid's ability to lein assets. A life estate is considered an asset for recovery purposes in some states.