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Home→Agencies→Medicaid Estate Recovery→Kentucky→When someone dies

Medicaid Estate Recovery in Kentucky: when someone dies

A 4-step process for Cabinet for Health and Family Services — Department for Medicaid Services (Estate Recovery) after a death in Kentucky.

OverviewWhen someone dies

Medicaid Recovery

Kentucky

chfs.ky.gov/agencies/dms/dpi/tpl/Pages/estaterecovery.aspx→

Administering agency

Cabinet for Health and Family Services — Department for Medicaid Services (Estate Recovery)

Phone502-564-4958
WebsiteVisit website →

Authority

907 KAR 1:585

Verified Jul 2026

Steps to take

  1. Determine whether the deceased received Medicaid nursing facility, ICF-IID, or waiver services at age 55 or older, or while permanently institutionalized.
  2. The provider reports the death to the local Department for Community Based Services office within ten days; the Department then serves the estate representative a written notice of intent to recover.
  3. Address the noticed amount as a debt of the estate, after confirming whether a surviving-spouse or surviving-child exemption applies.
  4. Apply for an undue hardship exemption within thirty days of the notice if it applies:
    • Submit a written request to the Department for Medicaid Services
    • Verify that the asset is a sole income-producing family farm or business conveyed to a recipient family member
    • The Department issues a decision within thirty days; a denial can be appealed

Cabinet for Health and Family Services — Department for Medicaid Services (Estate Recovery)

Phone: 502-564-4958

Visit the agency website →

Frequently asked questions

Under 907 KAR 1:585, no recovery is made while there is a surviving spouse or a surviving child who is under 21 or who is blind or disabled. Recovery is also waived for an undue hardship, and the Department may waive recovery as not cost effective — it does not treat recovery as cost effective when the estate's date-of-death value subject to recovery is $10,000 or less.

SimplyTrustSimplyTrust Editorial·Updated July 14, 2026

Sources

  • apps.legislature.ky.gov
  • chfs.ky.gov

Data sourced from Medicaid Estate Recovery in Kentucky primary sources (2 pages reviewed). How we research.

Medicaid Recovery

Kentucky

chfs.ky.gov/agencies/dms/dpi/tpl/Pages/estaterecovery.aspx→

Administering agency

Cabinet for Health and Family Services — Department for Medicaid Services (Estate Recovery)

Phone502-564-4958
WebsiteVisit website →

Authority

907 KAR 1:585

Verified Jul 2026
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