018: Can Medicaid Take Your House in Florida? Here's What the Law Actually Says

Attorney John Marshall tackles one of the most common questions he hears in his Central Florida office: can Medicaid take your house? Many new Florida residents arrive assuming state Medicaid rules mirror what they left behind in Ohio, Pennsylvania, or New York, and that assumption can cost them thousands in unnecessary spend-down before they ever ask for legal advice.

Marshall breaks down why Florida treats homestead property differently, including the actual equity cap that determines whether a home stays protected, and explains how families can use HELOCs, caregiver agreements, and smart estate planning to preserve a home's value instead of losing it. He also flags the outdated will and trust language, often carried over from another state's estate plan, that quietly strips away homestead protections after death.

This episode replaces guesswork with the actual rules, and the numbers that matter.

In this episode, you will hear:

• Florida Medicaid rules that catch out-of-state retirees off guard
• The real asset limits, and why a home usually doesn't count against them
• The $737,000 equity cap on a protected homestead, and how a HELOC can solve it
• Which creditors can actually force the sale of a home (the IRS, property taxes, secured liens, not Medicaid)
• Why a home stays protected even after a move into assisted living
• Estate planning mistakes that quietly void homestead protection after death
• Mobile homes on rented land, and the one fix that keeps them protected too

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Episode Credits

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