It takes hard work to buy a home, pay down a mortgage, maintain the property, and build equity over decades. Your home may represent far more than a financial asset: it may be where you raised your family, celebrated holidays, and created lasting memories.

So when nursing home costs can reach $14,000 or more per month, it only makes sense that you would want to understand your options for protecting the home.

If you live in Baltimore, Harford, Cecil, Carroll, or Anne Arundel County, early asset protection and long-term care planning may help your family avoid preventable mistakes. However, there is no single deed, trust, or last-minute transfer that automatically protects your home.

The key is to START YOUR PLAN BEFORE A CRISIS.

Here are five steps to consider.

1. Understand Maryland’s 60-Month Medicaid Look-Back Period

Maryland Medicaid generally reviews the five years: or 60 months: before you apply for Medicaid to help pay for nursing home care.

During this review, Medicaid may examine whether you transferred assets for less than fair market value. Examples can include:

Giving your home to a child
Transferring your home to an irrevocable trust
Adding a child or other relative to your deed
Selling real estate for substantially less than its value
Giving away bank accounts, investments, or personal property
Transferring a business interest without receiving fair compensation

If Medicaid determines that you made an uncompensated transfer, it may impose a penalty period during which you are ineligible for certain long-term care benefits.

Why early planning matters

Suppose you transfer a home or a valuable interest in your home into a Medicaid Asset Protection Trust. That transfer may be treated as a gift for Medicaid purposes. If you apply for Medicaid during the next 60 months, the transfer could affect your eligibility.

If you complete appropriate planning more than five years before applying, the transfer may be outside the look-back period. But the result depends on the specific trust language, the nature of the transfer, your ownership rights, and Maryland Medicaid rules.

That is why timing matters.

A nursing home admission can happen suddenly after a fall, stroke, diagnosis, or serious illness. Once the crisis begins, your planning choices may be more limited.

START YOUR ESTATE AND LONG-TERM CARE PLAN NOW: not after the nursing home bill arrives.

For current Maryland income and asset information, review the Maryland Department of Health’s Medicaid limits page.

2. Know Maryland’s Home Equity Limit and Primary Residence Rules

Your home may receive special treatment under Medicaid rules, but “exempt” does not always mean completely protected.

For 2026, Maryland’s home equity limit for long-term care Medicaid is generally reported as $752,000. Home equity typically means the property’s fair market value minus mortgages, liens, and other secured debts.

For example:

Home value: $900,000
Mortgage balance: $250,000
Estimated equity: $650,000

In that example, the equity is below the reported $752,000 limit. A different result may apply if the home is worth $1 million and the mortgage balance is only $100,000.

When may your primary residence be exempt?

Maryland Medicaid may treat your primary residence as an exempt asset when:

You are living in the home;
You state an intent to return home after receiving care;
Your spouse continues to live there;
A minor child lives there; or
A blind or disabled child lives there.

The details matter. A home may remain excluded from certain asset calculations while still creating problems because of excess equity, ownership changes, liens, or estate recovery.

Do not overlook estate recovery

Even if your home does not prevent you from qualifying for Medicaid during your lifetime, Maryland may seek recovery after your death for certain Medicaid benefits paid on your behalf. Estate recovery can involve the probate estate and may affect the home your family expected to inherit.

Your home is not automatically safe simply because it is your primary residence.

Review:

Current market value
Mortgage and lien balances
How the deed is titled
Whether a spouse or dependent lives in the home
Whether you intend to return home
Whether Medicaid has paid for nursing home care
Whether your estate plan addresses probate and estate recovery

Rules and limits may change annually. Use the official Maryland Medicaid resources as a starting point, then obtain advice based on your circumstances.

3. Consider an Irrevocable Medicaid Asset Protection Trust

An Irrevocable Medicaid Asset Protection Trust, often called a MAPT, may be one option for protecting a home and other assets from future long-term care expenses.

With a properly drafted MAPT, you may transfer certain assets: including a residence: into an irrevocable trust. A trustee manages the property under the trust’s terms, while you may retain limited rights, such as the right to live in the home.

The trust may help protect:

Your primary residence
Rental real estate
Bank accounts
Investment accounts
Business interests
Personal property
Other assets intended for your family

However, a MAPT is not a last-minute solution.

Important MAPT considerations

The trust is generally irrevocable.
You may not be able to take the property back or change the trust freely.
The transfer may trigger the 60-month look-back.
If you apply for Medicaid within five years of transferring the home, the transfer may result in a penalty.
You may give up control.
The trustee: not necessarily you: may control important decisions involving trust property.
The trust must be properly drafted and funded.
Signing trust documents is not enough. The deed and other assets must be transferred correctly.
Tax and family concerns must be considered.
A transfer may affect capital gains, basis, refinancing, sale options, and the family’s future flexibility.

A MAPT can be a powerful asset protection tool when used appropriately and early. It can also create serious problems when copied from the internet or prepared without considering Maryland Medicaid rules.

Read more about trust administration in Maryland and discuss whether a MAPT fits your goals.

4. Review Deed Options, Including Life Estate and Transfer-on-Death Deeds

A deed can affect who owns your home, who controls it, whether it passes through probate, and how Medicaid views a transfer.

Life estate deed

A life estate deed may allow you to retain the right to live in the home for the rest of your life while transferring a remainder interest to another person, such as your children.

Potential advantages include:

You may continue living in the home;
The property may pass to the remaindermen without probate; and
The deed may support certain estate planning goals.

But you may give up flexibility. Depending on the deed, you may need the remaindermen’s consent to sell, refinance, or mortgage the property. Transferring the remainder interest may also be treated as a gift for Medicaid purposes and may trigger a penalty during the 60-month look-back period.

Transfer-on-death deed

A transfer-on-death deed generally allows you to retain ownership and control during your lifetime while naming a beneficiary to receive the property at death.

This type of deed may help with probate avoidance. But it generally does not remove your ownership during life. As a result:

The home may still be considered your asset for Medicaid purposes;
The deed may not protect your home from nursing home costs during your lifetime; and
Estate recovery issues require careful review.

Maryland deed laws can change. Amenta Law Firm has addressed Maryland’s transfer-on-death deed developments in this article.

The most important point is simple: A deed that helps avoid probate is not necessarily a deed that protects eligibility for Medicaid.

5. Work With an Elder Law Attorney Before Transferring Anything

Before you add a child to your deed, transfer your home to a trust, create a life estate, or sign a transfer-on-death deed, obtain advice from a Maryland elder law attorney.

A seemingly simple transfer can affect:

Medicaid eligibility
The 60-month look-back period
Penalty calculations
Capital gains tax
Property tax treatment
Mortgage and refinancing options
Divorce or creditor risks involving a child
Estate recovery
Your ability to sell the home
Family relationships and future disputes

Bring your attorney a complete picture of your assets, including:

Your home and other real estate
Mortgages and liens
Bank and investment accounts
Retirement accounts
Life insurance
Businesses
Vehicles
Personal property
Existing trusts
Deeds and beneficiary designations
Prior gifts or transfers

A proper plan should protect your needs first. You may need access to money for care, repairs, taxes, insurance, and daily living expenses. Your plan should also account for your spouse, adult children, special needs beneficiaries, and the possibility that your care needs will change.

Amenta Law Firm helps Maryland families with asset protection planning, Medicaid planning, trusts, disability planning, and estate planning in Baltimore, Harford, Cecil, Carroll, and Anne Arundel Counties.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can Medicaid take my house if I enter a nursing home?

Not necessarily. Your primary residence may be exempt under certain circumstances, including when you intend to return home or your spouse or dependent lives there. However, home equity limits, ownership issues, liens, transfers, and estate recovery can affect the result.

Is it too late to protect my home if my parent is already in a nursing home?

Not always. Some planning options may still be available, but the 60-month look-back makes urgent transfers risky. Do not give away or retitle the home without advice.

Does a transfer-on-death deed protect my home from nursing home costs?

Usually, a TOD deed is more useful for probate avoidance than Medicaid eligibility planning. You generally retain ownership during your lifetime, so the home may still be considered for Medicaid purposes.

Is a Medicaid Asset Protection Trust right for everyone?

No. A MAPT may provide asset protection, but it is irrevocable and involves a five-year look-back. Your age, health, home equity, family situation, tax goals, and need for flexibility all matter.

Protect Your Home Before a Crisis

You have worked too hard to leave your family’s home: and your family’s future: to chance.

Understand the rules. Review your home equity. Consider appropriate trust and deed options. Get advice before making a transfer.

START YOUR LONG-TERM CARE PLAN NOW. If you are concerned about nursing home costs or protecting a home in Maryland, contact Amenta Law Firm to learn how elder law and asset protection planning may help.

This article provides general information about Maryland law and Medicaid planning as of 2026. It is not legal advice and does not create an attorney-client relationship. Medicaid rules, limits, and estate recovery practices can change. Your options depend on your assets, health, family circumstances, and the exact documents involved.