Medicaid Eligibility Question: Can My Mom Take Out a Home Equity Loan on a House in Her Name Without Affecting My Dad’s Medicaid Benefits?

It should not. The state Medicaid agency should not look at your mother’s assets after the spend down has occurred. But this is a general rule, so we recommend consulting with an elder law attorney to make certain there is no local trap for the unwary. Also, if she hasn’t done so already, your mother should make sure to update her estate plan so the house doesn’t pass back to your father if she were to die before him.