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

Medicaid Estate Recovery in Wisconsin: when someone dies

A 4-step process for Wisconsin Department of Health Services — Estate Recovery Program after a death in Wisconsin.

OverviewWhen someone dies

Medicaid Recovery

Wisconsin

dhs.wisconsin.gov/medicaid/estate-recovery.htm→

Administering agency

Wisconsin Department of Health Services — Estate Recovery Program

WebsiteVisit website →

Authority

Wis. Stat. 49.496; Wis. Stat. 49.849

Verified May 2026

Steps to take

  1. Determine whether the deceased received Medicaid, long-term care, or related services, or was married to someone who did.
  2. Notify the Wisconsin DHS Estate Recovery Program so a claim amount can be calculated.
  3. Address the claim as a debt of the estate before distributing assets to heirs; if real property is involved, expect a lien recorded with the county register of deeds.
  4. If a surviving spouse or qualifying child is living, document the deferral; if a co-owner or beneficiary faces hardship, request the hardship waiver through DHS.

Wisconsin Department of Health Services — Estate Recovery Program

Visit the agency website →

Frequently asked questions

Yes. Wis. Stat. 49.496(1)(cm) and 49.849(1)(d) define "property of a decedent" to include assets transferred through joint tenancy, tenancy in common, survivorship, life estate, revocable trust, or any other arrangement. Only an irrevocable trust is excluded.

Yes. Wis. Stat. 49.496(3) and 49.849(2) let the Department file a claim against the estate of a deceased nonrecipient surviving spouse for Medicaid paid for the recipient. There is a rebuttable presumption that all property in the surviving spouse's estate was marital property and is fully subject to the claim.

Recovery is not allowable while the recipient is survived by a spouse, a child under age 21, or a disabled child (Wis. Stat. 49.496(3)(b)). The Department can record a lien against the home but cannot enforce it while any of those survivors are living.

Medicaid Recovery

Wisconsin

dhs.wisconsin.gov/medicaid/estate-recovery.htm→

Administering agency

Wisconsin Department of Health Services — Estate Recovery Program

WebsiteVisit website →

Authority

Wis. Stat. 49.496; Wis. Stat. 49.849

Verified May 2026