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THE SAUGUS ADVOCATE – FriDAy, JUnE 20, 2025 Page 19 Sa nr Sa a MASSHEALTH NOTICE OF INTENT TO PLACE A LIEN T he Commonwealth of Massachusetts, pursuant to regulations at 130 CMR, Section 515.012(A), will place a lien on a MassHealth recipient’s home by fi ling the lien at the registry of deeds for the applicable county where the recipient’s home is located. The situation arises where an individual is in a nursing home and MassHealth is paying for the nursing home care. The lien is designed to protect MassHealth in the event the home was sold. If the house were to be sold, MassHealth would have to be reimbursed first for MassHealth benefits paid to the individual residing in the nursing home. MassHealth will also have to be notifi ed if the nursing home resident dies and has a probate estate. If the home is part of the probate estate, then MassHealth also has the right to recover against that asset. For those individuals that had previously transferred their home to their children with a reserved life estate or for those individuals that had previously transferred their home to an irrevocable trust, MassHealth will not be able to recover from that asset as the asset itself is simply not part of the probate estate any longer. Prior to nursing home placement, by reserving a life estate, the homeowner/life tenant will still be able to claim an abatement on the real estate tax bill so long as he or she is still residing in the home as his or her principal residence. In the irrevocable trust context, so long as one of the Trustees resides in the home and the trust instrument provides for the right of the Trustee/Settlor to occupy, enjoy and possess the real estate that is held in the trust, the real estate tax exemption will also be allowed. The entire trust instrument need not be recorded. Only a Trust Certifi - cate gets recorded, which sets forth the name of the Trust, the date of the Trust, the Successor Trustees and certain administrative provisions. Therefore, if you transfer your principal residence into an irrevocable trust, you need not also reserve a life estate in the deed going into the trust. You’ll still be entitled to the abatement. MassHealth regulations authorize the placement of a lien against a nursing resident’s home if it has determined that he or she cannot reasonably be expected to be discharged from the nursing home or other medical institution and return home; and none of the following relatives lives in the home: 1. A spouse; 2. A child under the age of 21, or a blind or permanently and totally disabled child; or 3. A sibling who has an equity interest in the property and has been living in the home for at least one year before the nursing home resident’s admission to the nursing home or other medical facility. If the nursing home resident is subsequently discharged from the nursing home and returns home after the lien is placed, MassHealth will then release the lien. If the home is sold during the nursing home resident’s lifetime and the home is not in an irrevocable trust (i.e. only a life estate was reserved), there would be a repayment to MassHealth from the nursing home resident’s share of the net sales proceeds for the cost of all medical services provided on or after April 1, 1995. If a life estate is involved, the portion of the net sales proceeds attributable to the life tenant (based upon life expectancy tables) would have to be repaid to MassHealth. In this situation, we are assuming that the life tenant is also the nursing home resident. One must give some serious thought as to whether or not it is a good idea to sell the home in such a situation. It might be best if at all possible to hold onto the property until the nursing home resident dies. Repayment of the cost of medical services may be deferred while any of the following individuals are still lawfully living in the property: 1. A sibling who has been residing in the property for at least one year immediately prior to the nursing home resident’s admission into the nursing home or other medical institution; 2. A son or daughter who: a. Has been living on the property for at least 2 years immediately before the nursing home resident’s admission into the nursing home or other medical institution; b. Establishes to the satisfaction of MassHealth that he or she provided care that permitted the nursing home resident to live at home during the two– year period before institutionalization; and c. Has lived lawfully in the property on a continual basis while the nursing home resident has been in the nursing home or other medical institution. The principal residence is often a great asset to place into a Medicaid-qualifying trust in order to avoid future MassHealth liens down the road. They off er great fl exibility, asset protection features, spendthrift features, successor Trustee provisions in order to protect against mental incapacity issues, protection of minor grandchildren in the event of a premature death of a child, etc. Meanwhile, the right to occupy, enjoy and possess the residence still exists so that no one can ever take that right away from you until the day you die. You must first satisfy the 5-year look back period meaning 5 years must go by from the date the trust was created and funded with the principal residence before the residence will not be considered a countable asset. In that situation, there would be no so-called “disqualifying transfer”. Joseph D. Cataldo is an estate planning/elder law attorney,Certifi ed Public Accountant, Certifi ed Financial Planner, AICPA Personal Financial Specialist and holds a masters degree in taxation. y Senior Seni by Jim Miller Gravesite Care When You Can’t Get There Dear Savvy Senior, Can you recommend any services that off er gravesite cleaning and care? I recently visited my parent’s cemetery gravesite over Memorial Day weekend and found that their headstones were overtaken by weeds and moss and need to be cleaned. I live in a diff erent state and can’t get back very often. Who can I call on to help me with this? Long-Distance Linda Dear Linda, Depending on where your parents are buried, there are a hodgepodge of places you can turn to for gravesite grooming, decorating and special care when you can’t get there. Here’s what you should know. Gravesite Care It’s important to know that as a general rule, most cemeteries, like the one your parents are buried in, only provide basic grounds maintenance like mowing the grass and trash pickup. Special gravesite care and headstone cleaning is almost always up to the family. But for families who live a distance from their loved one’s burial place and can’t get back very often, what options are available? A good place to start is to contact the cemetery staff where your parents are buried to see if they off er any special gravesite cleaning services or know of anyone who does. If not, try reaching out to some local funeral homes in the area to see if they can help or refer you. If you don’t have any luck there, another option is to hire a gravesite care provider on your own. These are small or individually run businesses that provide services like plot maintenance including grass trimming and weeding, headstone cleaning and restoration, fl ower and wreath deliveries and more. And so you know the work was comFloral Services If you’re interested in decorating your parent’s gravesite next Memorial Day with fresh cut fl owers or live plants, another option is to call a local fl orist to see if they can make a delivery directly to their grave site. Many florists will accommodate this request if you provide them the cemetery location and plot number, but you may not get a photo verifying the delivery. Send your senior questions to: Savvy Senior, P.O. Box 5443, Norman, OK 73070, or visit SavvySenior.org. Jim Miller is a contributor to the NBC Today show and author of “The Savvy Senior” book. pleted or the fl owers were delivered, many companies will take pictures of the gravesite and e-mail or text them to you. There are literally hundreds of small businesses that provide gravesite care services in local communities or regions across the country. To fi nd them, do a simple Google or Bing internet search, and type in something like “grave care services” or “cemetery headstone cleaning” plus your city or state. Or use an AI tool like Chat GPT or Gemini to do a search. You can also seek help by contacting the local memorial society or funeral consumer alliance program near your parent’s gravesite – see Funerals.org/fi nd-an-affi liate for contact information. These are volunteer groups that off er a wide range of information on local funeral and cremation providers, cemeteries and more. The cost for most gravesite care services can range anywhere from $50 to over $250 for headstone cleaning and memorial restoration (depending on the job size), $50 to $200 for fl ower and wreath deliveries, and $30 to $80 for plot grooming. Special discounts for multiple gravesite services and visits may also exist. nior nior

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