Jointly Owned Homes

Many homes are owned by more than one person: a married couple, a parent and an adult child, siblings who inherited a family home, or unmarried partners. Joint ownership affects Long-Term Care Medicaid in several ways: how much of the home’s value counts, whether the home can be sold, what happens under the look-back, and whether the home can be reached through estate recovery after death. This guide explains the forms of joint ownership and how each is treated.

Figures change periodically. Double-check current amounts before relying on them.

Forms of joint ownership

Form	What it means	What happens at death
Joint tenancy with right of survivorship	Each owner has an equal, undivided share	The survivor automatically owns the whole
Tenancy in common	Each owner owns a share, which can be unequal	Each owner’s share passes under their will or by state law
Tenancy by the entirety (married couples, in some states)	Spouses own the whole together	The surviving spouse owns the whole
Life estate and remainder	One person has the right to live there for life; others own what remains	The remainder owners own the whole

Life estates are covered in Lady Bird deeds and Deeding a home to family.

When the home is exempt anyway

If the applicant lives in the home, or intends to return, or a spouse or dependent relative lives there, the home is generally exempt, no matter how it is owned. Joint ownership then matters mainly for:

the home equity limit, which counts only the applicant’s share of the equity;
the look-back, if ownership was changed recently;
estate recovery after death.

When the home is not exempt

If the home is not exempt, for example because the applicant has moved permanently to a nursing home and has no spouse or dependent relative there, the applicant’s share of the home may be countable.

States generally count the applicant’s share of the equity. For two equal owners, that is usually half. Some states reduce the value of a fractional share because a part interest in a house is hard to sell.

A jointly owned home may be treated as not available if it cannot be sold without the other owners’ consent and they refuse. Under SSI rules, jointly owned real property is excluded if selling it would cause undue hardship to a co-owner, for example because the co-owner lives in it as their home and would have to move, with no other housing readily available. States following these rules may exclude the share.

Expect to provide a signed statement from the co-owner and proof that they live in the home.

Adding a child to the deed

Adding a child as joint owner is a common, informal planning step, but it is a transfer:

Adding a child as a joint tenant usually gives away part of the home’s value, often half.
If done within the five-year look-back, it causes a penalty unless an exemption applies.
The child’s creditors, divorce or death can affect the home.
The child may lose part of the capital gains tax benefit of inheriting at death.

Exemptions that allow the home to be transferred to a child without penalty include a child under 21, a blind or disabled child, and a caregiver child who lived in the home for two years and provided care. See Child caregiver exemption.

Sibling co-owners

A home can be transferred without penalty to a sibling who already has an equity interest in it and lived there for at least one year just before the applicant entered an institution. See Sibling exemption.

Married couples

For couples, the home is usually exempt while either spouse lives there. Joint ownership between spouses is common and causes few problems. After the applicant is approved, the home can be transferred to the spouse at home without penalty. That can protect the home from estate recovery in states that recover only from the probate estate, and allow the spouse to sell or plan freely.

Joint ownership and estate recovery

Federal law requires states to recover from the probate estate. States may choose to recover from a broader estate, including property that passes outside probate, such as through joint tenancy with right of survivorship.

In a probate-only state, a home held in joint tenancy with right of survivorship usually passes to the survivor without a claim.
In an expanded-estate state, the deceased person’s share may still be subject to a claim.

See Estate recovery and Estate recovery rules by state.

A worked example

Helen, 82, and her son Mark, 55, own Helen’s home as joint tenants with right of survivorship. Mark was added to the deed eight years ago. Mark lives nearby, not in the home. Helen enters a nursing home and has no intention of returning.

The deed change was more than five years ago, so it is outside the look-back.
Helen’s share is half the equity. If the home is worth $300,000, her share may be about $150,000. Her state may count it.
If Mark refuses to sell, some states may treat the share as unavailable; others may not, since Mark does not live there.
If Helen dies, in a probate-only state the home passes to Mark without a claim. In an expanded-estate state, the state may claim against Helen’s share.

Common questions

Is my home safe if my son is on the deed? Not necessarily. It depends on when he was added, your state’s rules and whether the home is exempt.

Can my co-owner be forced to sell? The state cannot force a co-owner to sell, but it may count your share if it could be sold.

Does joint tenancy avoid estate recovery? In some states, yes. In others, no.

What if I own the home with my sister? You may qualify for the sibling exemption if she has lived there a year before you entered care.

Should I add my children to the deed now? Get advice first. It is a transfer with real tax, look-back and family risks that are hard to undo.

Getting advice

Joint ownership interacts with the look-back, estate recovery and taxes. A Certified Medicaid Planner (CMP) can review the deed and suggest the safest path.

Removing a name from the deed

Sometimes a family wants to undo a recent deed change, for example by having a child deed the share back to the parent. Returning the full share can cure the transfer for look-back purposes in many states, because the parent gets back what was given. But the returned share then counts as the parent’s again, and may be exempt or countable depending on the home’s status. See Curing a transfer.

Owners who are not family

Unmarried partners and friends sometimes own homes together. The same rules apply: the applicant’s share is valued, a co-owner who lives there may make the share unavailable, and a gift of a share within the look-back can be penalized. Unmarried partners do not get the protections for spouses, so the home may be at more risk than a married couple’s home.

Records to gather

the current deed and any earlier deeds from the past five years;
the property tax bill or assessment;
mortgage and home equity loan statements;
any agreement between co-owners about the home;
proof of who lives there, such as utility bills, driver’s licenses or voter records;
a co-owner’s signed statement if they refuse to sell.

What the state may ask

Caseworkers commonly ask:

When was each owner added, and what did they pay?
Who lives in the home now, and since when?
Would the co-owners agree to sell?
Who pays the taxes, insurance and upkeep?

Clear answers, backed by documents, avoid delays and repeated requests for more information. If a co-owner paid part of the purchase price or the mortgage over the years, gather proof. In some states this can show that the co-owner’s share was earned, not a gift.

Tenancy by the entirety

In states that recognize tenancy by the entirety, a married couple’s home held this way is protected from the separate creditors of one spouse. For Medicaid, it is treated much like any home owned by a couple: exempt while either spouse lives there, and transferable to the spouse at home without penalty. At the first spouse’s death, the survivor owns the whole home outside probate, which may matter for estate recovery in a probate-only state. Check how your deed is written, since the wording decides the form of ownership.

Last updated for 2026. General information only, not legal or financial advice. Medicaid Answers is a free educational resource published by Medicaid Answers Foundation.