Nevada Medicaid Estate Recovery

Nevada's estate-recovery law doesn't use the word 'estate' the way most people think of it from probate court. NRS 422.054 defines the recovery estate as an 'undivided estate' — all real and personal property and other assets that were part of the deceased Medicaid recipient's estate, plus any other property or asset in which that person held an interest or legal title immediately before or at the moment of death, to the extent of that interest. That's a considerably wider net than a conventional probate-only estate, and it's the reason home titling and beneficiary designations in Nevada require more than a quick glance.

NRS Chapter 422 gives the Nevada Health Authority the legal authority to pursue recovery from that undivided estate for qualifying Medicaid benefits paid on or after October 1, 1993, capped at whatever value remains in the estate. The same chapter also authorizes something more aggressive while someone is still alive: a pre-death lien against the real property of an institutionalized recipient, but only after notice and an opportunity for a hearing, and only when the state determines the person can't reasonably be expected to return home — with statutory safeguards built into that process.