Florida Medicaid Estate Recovery: Three-Month and Two-Year Deadlines

Florida Medicaid estate recovery time limits run on two clocks. When a probate estate is opened, the Agency for Health Care Administration (AHCA) generally has three months from the first publication of the notice to creditors to file its claim, or 30 days from the date it is served with that notice, whichever is later.¹ Independent of that, a hard two-year cutoff runs from the date of death and closes the door on any claim once it expires, whether probate was ever opened or not.²

The Three-Month Probate Deadline

The short clock starts once a personal representative opens probate and publishes a notice to creditors. That notice runs once a week for two consecutive weeks in a newspaper in the county administering the estate.³

If the deceased was 55 or older, the personal representative has a separate duty: serve AHCA directly with a copy of the notice and the death certificate within three months of the first publication, unless AHCA has already filed on its own.³

Once served, AHCA must file its claim by the later of two dates: three months after the first publication, or 30 days after the date it was served.¹ Prompt service usually means the three-month publication window controls. Late service near the end of that window gives AHCA an extra 30 days from the service date.

The Two-Year Absolute Cutoff

The longer clock runs from the date of death and does not depend on probate being opened. Once two years pass, the estate, the personal representative, and all beneficiaries are freed from liability on any claim against the decedent.²

This is a statute of repose. It does not pause or restart for any reason. The only claims that survive past the two-year mark are those already filed inside the window but not yet resolved; those continue until the court disposes of them.²

Some families assume that leaving probate closed will simply run the clock. It can. But AHCA can open a probate case itself inside the two-year window and file a claim, and whether it does depends on how much is potentially recoverable and whether the estate holds non-exempt assets worth pursuing.

What the Deadlines Apply To

Florida uses the narrow probate-estate definition for recovery. Under state law, “estate” means the property of a decedent subject to court-supervised administration.⁴ AHCA can only file claims against assets moving through probate, so the deadlines only bite on that pool.

Assets that skip probate generally sit outside AHCA’s reach: bank and retirement accounts with named beneficiaries, property held in joint tenancy with rights of survivorship, and assets placed in a living trust before death. Federal law would allow Florida to define “estate” more broadly and capture those transfers, but Florida has not done so. A home titled solely in the recipient’s name with no surviving joint tenant flows through probate and becomes a target. The same home held in a living trust or in joint tenancy may not.

Who These Deadlines Actually Concern

Estate recovery reaches two groups. The first is anyone 55 or older when they received Medicaid-funded services. Federal law requires every state to seek reimbursement for nursing facility care, home and community-based services, and related hospital and prescription drug costs paid on behalf of enrollees in this age bracket.⁵ Only services delivered after age 55 count. Benefits received earlier in life are off the table.

The second is people who were permanently institutionalized, typically in a nursing facility, at any age. Florida exercises the federal option to pursue recovery against this group.⁶

Exemptions That Stop a Timely Claim

Meeting the deadline is only half the fight for AHCA. Florida law flatly blocks recovery in several situations, and these are not discretionary. If the conditions are met, the claim cannot collect.

Surviving Family

Recovery is barred if the deceased is survived by a spouse, a child under 21, or a child of any age who is blind or permanently and totally disabled.⁶ Any one of these survivors shields the entire estate. A surviving spouse alone stops the claim.

Homestead Property

Florida’s constitutional homestead protection carries into estate recovery. The Medicaid recovery statute expressly provides that the debt cannot be enforced against property exempt from creditors under the state constitution or laws.⁶ To qualify, the property must have been the decedent’s primary residence, must sit within the constitutional size limits (up to half an acre inside a municipality, up to 160 acres outside one), and must pass to a legal heir.

Sibling and Caregiver-Child Protections

Federal law adds protections tied to the home. A sibling with an equity interest who lived in the property for at least one year before the recipient entered a medical institution, and who has continued living there, blocks enforcement against the home. An adult son or daughter who lived in the home for at least two years before the recipient was admitted, and whose care allowed the recipient to stay home rather than enter a facility, is likewise protected as long as they continue living there.⁷ The child must be able to show, to the state’s satisfaction, that their care actually delayed institutionalization. Simply living in the home is not enough.

Hardship Waiver

When no automatic exemption applies, an heir or personal representative can ask AHCA to waive recovery on undue-hardship grounds. Florida law recognizes four categories, and meeting any one can support the request.⁶

The heir lives in the decedent’s home now, lived there at the time of death, made it their primary residence for at least 12 months before the death, and owns no other residence.
Recovery would deprive the heir of food, clothing, shelter, or medical care necessary for life or health.
The heir is the decedent’s sibling or child, provided full-time care that delayed nursing home entry, and lived with the recipient for at least one year before death.
The cost of selling the property would equal or exceed its value.

The statute is explicit that wanting to receive an inheritance is not a hardship.⁶ Applications need supporting documentation, and meeting a category gives AHCA a statutory basis to waive without guaranteeing approval.

A Note on Pre-Death Liens

The time limits above govern post-death claims. AHCA can also act during the recipient’s lifetime by placing a lien on real property under federal rules commonly called a TEFRA lien. The lien attaches when the recipient is an inpatient of a medical institution required to contribute income toward care and the state has determined they cannot reasonably be expected to return home.⁸ The agency must give notice and an opportunity for a hearing beforehand, and it must remove the lien if the recipient actually returns home.⁵ A TEFRA lien cannot attach to the home while a spouse, a child under 21, a blind or disabled child, or a sibling with an equity interest lawfully resides there. The three-month and two-year deadlines do not apply to these lifetime liens.

1
Official Internet Site of the Florida Legislature. Florida Statutes 733.702 – Claims Against Estate; Limitations
2
Florida Senate. Florida Code 733.710 – Limitations on Claims Against Estates
3
Justia Law. Florida Code 733.2121 – Notice to Creditors; Filing of Claims
4
Florida Senate. Florida Code 731.201 – General Definitions
5
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. Estate Recovery
6
Florida Senate. Florida Code 409.9101 – Recovery for Payments Made on Behalf of Medicaid-Eligible Persons
7
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 42 USC 1396p – Liens, Adjustments and Recoveries, and Transfers of Assets
8
eCFR. 42 CFR 433.36 – Liens and Recoveries