My husband had medical and medicare . he had cancer and hospitalized. we have a small condominium . it belong to me and i paid and am paying...

Question

My husband had medical and medicare . he had cancer and hospitalized. we have a small condominium . it belong to me and i paid and am paying the mortgage, but i had his name on title. if something happen to him what would happen to me regarding of the our condominium. medical can take that from me?

Answer

Medi-Cal estate recovery claims are deferred to the death of the surviving spouse. To avoid the estate claim, there are two options:

1. Your husband can transfer his interest in the condo back to you before his death - but this will cost you the step-up in cost basis that would otherwise occur.

2. The condo can be transferred into an irrevocable trust, either now or after your husband's death, so that upon his death (or yours) he (or you) won't own any interest in the property, so it won't be subject to the estate claim.