How to Protect Your Family Home from Probate and Nursing Home Costs in Massachusetts

For many families in Massachusetts, the family home is more than just a piece of property, it’s a source of memories, security, and generational wealth. But without proper planning, that home can be lost to the probate process or be forced to cover long-term care costs if a loved one enters a nursing home. At Lake Shore Legal, we help clients take proactive steps to safeguard their homes and their family’s future.

Here’s how you can protect your home under Massachusetts law.

1. Avoiding Probate with Proper Estate Planning

When a homeowner passes away without a proper estate plan, the property typically must go through probate, the court-supervised process of distributing assets. This process can be lengthy, costly, and public. Here are two key strategies to avoid probate:

Revocable Living Trust

A revocable trust allows you to transfer ownership of your home to a trust while still maintaining control during your lifetime. Upon your passing, the property passes directly to your beneficiaries without probate.

Pros:

• Keeps the home out of probate

• Easily amended during your lifetime

• Can include successor trustee instructions in case of incapacity

Life Estate Deed (a.k.a. “Lady Bird” Deed Alternative)

In Massachusetts, a life estate deed allows you to transfer the home to your heirs while retaining a “life estate”, the right to live in and control the property for the rest of your life.

Pros:

• Avoids probate upon death

• May help preserve Medicaid eligibility

• Protects the home from certain creditor claims after death

Caution: Life estate deeds are difficult to reverse. You’ll need your remainder beneficiaries’ consent to sell or refinance the home.

2. Protecting the Home from Nursing Home (MassHealth) Costs

Massachusetts residents who apply for MassHealth (Medicaid) to cover long-term care costs face potential estate recovery, where the state may try to recover expenses from the home after death. Proper planning helps avoid this.

Irrevocable Trusts for MassHealth Planning

An irrevocable income-only trust can be used to protect the home from nursing home costs — but timing is critical.

Key Points:

• The home is transferred into the trust

• You can continue living in the home and receive income (but not principal)

• The 5-year lookback period applies: MassHealth will not consider the home protected unless it’s been in the trust for at least 5 years

This is one of the strongest tools to preserve the family home from being sold to repay nursing home costs, but it requires giving up direct control over the property.

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Bonus Tip: Don’t Rely Solely on Joint Ownership

Many Massachusetts homeowners assume that adding a child to the deed as a joint tenant will solve everything. While joint tenancy can avoid probate, it doesn’t protect the home from:

• The child’s creditors

• Divorce proceedings

• Nursing home recovery if the parent later applies for MassHealth

This method can actually create more legal and financial risks than it solves.

Final Thoughts: Plan Early, Protect More

The best way to protect your family home from probate and nursing home costs is to plan early and plan strategically. Every family situation is different, and Massachusetts laws are complex. At Lake Shore Legal, we guide clients through the best options for their goals, whether it’s passing the home to children, preparing for long-term care, or preserving eligibility for MassHealth.

Let’s make sure your home stays in your family — not in the hands of the state.

Lake Shore Legal | Central Massachusetts Estate Planning Attorneys

Contact us today to schedule a free consultation and start protecting what matters the most.