Long-Term Care Funding in Alabama

Why Alabama is different

• No TOD or Lady Bird deed exists — Alabama has not adopted either a transfer-on-death deed or an enhanced life-estate deed for real property, so an online 'beneficiary deed' form found elsewhere carries no legal weight here.
• Recovery is probate-limited — Alabama's estate-recovery program is defined by Alabama probate law, not an expanded definition reaching joint tenancy or living-trust assets, which makes title decisions especially consequential.
• Institutional care is an entitlement; waivers are capped — nursing-facility Medicaid must be granted to anyone who qualifies, while the seven HCBS waiver programs have limited participant slots and real waiting periods.
• A Qualifying Income Trust (QIT) is required above the income cap — Alabama's Form 262 packet requires a QIT holding only the applicant's income, and eligibility can't start until the month the trust is actually funded.
• PASRR screening applies at admission — Alabama's OBRA PASRR office screens nursing-facility applicants and residents for serious mental illness or intellectual disability before placement.