Rosa's House Is Sitting Empty. Does It Still Count as Exempt Under Florida Medicaid?

Rosa's Situation

Rosa is 88 and living in a nursing home in Deltona. Her son Marco has been paying the light bill on her empty house for months, mowing the lawn on weekends, and wondering whether all of it is pointless. Rosa's doctor has told the family, gently, that she probably will not be well enough to live independently again. Marco assumed that meant the house would have to be sold to pay for her care. It does not, at least not automatically, and that surprises most families the first time they hear it. (Rosa is a composite example used to illustrate how this rule typically plays out, not an actual Truestead client.)

Truestead has already written about the general Medicaid asset rules, the five-year lookback, and whether Medicaid takes the house at all. This piece answers one specific question inside that bigger picture: what happens to the homestead exemption once the applicant is already in the nursing home and the doctor's outlook is not encouraging.

Myth 1: If the Doctor Says She Won't Go Home, the House Can't Be Exempt

This is the myth that trips up the most families, and it is the one weighing on Marco. The actual rule in Florida is that the homestead exemption for Medicaid purposes turns on a stated intent to return home, not on medical probability. The applicant, or someone signing on their behalf under a power of attorney or as an authorized representative, completes a simple written statement expressing the intention to return to the home if circumstances allow.

The Department of Children and Families generally accepts that statement at face value. It does not require a doctor's letter predicting recovery, and it does not require the family to prove the plan is realistic. This is a more forgiving standard than the one Florida courts use for homestead creditor protection in other contexts, where actual intent and circumstances get scrutinized more closely. For Medicaid purposes, the sworn statement itself is what does the work.

For Rosa, that means her son can sign the intent to return statement on her behalf, even knowing her doctor is doubtful, and the house can remain an exempt, non-countable asset while she is on Medicaid.

Myth 2: The Exemption Depends on Someone Living in the House

Families often think the house only stays protected if a spouse or relative is physically living there. That is true for one path to exemption, but it is not the only path.

• If Rosa's spouse still lived in the house, or if a dependent child under 21, or a blind or permanently disabled child of any age lived there, the home would be automatically exempt regardless of value.
• Because no one lives in Rosa's house, the exemption instead depends on the intent to return statement, combined with a home equity limit that applies to single applicants.

Florida's home equity limit is adjusted periodically, and it is high enough that most modest and mid-range Florida homes fall comfortably under it. Rosa's Deltona house, sitting empty, still qualifies under this equity-limit path as long as the intent to return statement is on file and her equity does not exceed the current limit. If you are unsure whether a particular home's equity is under that year's limit, that number should be confirmed with a Florida elder law attorney, since it is adjusted from year to year.

Myth 3: An Empty House Is the Same as a Rented or Listed House

This is where families sometimes make an honest but costly mistake. Marco has floated the idea of renting the house out to cover some of his mother's costs, or listing it for sale since she probably will not return. Either move changes the analysis.

This does not mean an empty house must sit vacant and unused forever if the family wants rental income eventually. It means that decision needs to be made deliberately, often alongside a deed strategy (a lady bird deed is the tool Truestead has covered in a separate article) so that renting the home does not simultaneously interfere with Medicaid eligibility or complicate what happens to the property later. For Rosa's family, the safest course while she is receiving benefits is to keep the home unrented and unlisted, and to have that conversation with counsel before changing course.

Myth 4: Keeping the House Exempt Now Means It's Protected Forever

Exemption during Rosa's lifetime is a separate question from what happens to the house after she passes away. While Rosa is alive and on Medicaid, the home being exempt simply means it is not counted against her when DCF calculates her assets for eligibility. It does not erase what Florida calls estate recovery.

Under Florida's Medicaid Estate Recovery Program, the state can file a claim against a deceased Medicaid recipient's probate estate to recover the cost of benefits paid, generally for benefits received from the late summer of 1993 forward. The important word there is probate. Florida's constitutional homestead protections generally shield the home from creditor claims, including this one, when the home passes to a qualifying heir like a spouse or a lineal descendant, and especially when the home is structured so that it never becomes part of the probate estate in the first place.

This is exactly why families in Rosa's position often look at a lady bird deed. Done correctly, it keeps the house exempt during her lifetime for Medicaid purposes and lets it pass directly to her son afterward, outside of probate, without the home ever being exposed to an estate recovery claim.

Myth 5: One Signed Form Handles Everything, No Follow-Up Needed

The intent to return statement is a real and legitimate tool, but it works best as part of a plan, not a one-time form filed and forgotten. Families should keep basic things current: the home's utilities and insurance active, the mailing address on file, and the property maintained rather than left to visibly deteriorate. None of this needs to be elaborate. It simply supports the credibility of the stated intent and avoids raising unnecessary questions down the line.

For Marco, that means continuing to pay the electric bill and keep the lawn mowed is not busywork. It is quietly reinforcing the paperwork his mother's representative already signed, and it dovetails with the deed planning that protects the house once Rosa passes away.

Sources

• Alper Law Group, "Florida Homestead and Medicaid Eligibility, Estate Recovery, and Planning," updated April 21, 2026
• Elder Needs Law, "Florida Medicaid ESS Policy Manual Assets Ch 1600"
• Medicaid Planning Assistance, "When is a Home Exempt from Medicaid's Asset Limit?" updated August 11, 2026
• Miami Elder Care Lawyers, "Can a Nursing Home Take My Home in Florida? | Medicaid Estate Recovery," updated October 9, 2025
• Zoecklein Law, "Can Medicaid Take Your House in Florida?" updated July 26, 2026

This article is for general informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice, nor does reading it create an attorney-client relationship. Florida estate, elder, probate, and real estate law are fact-specific and change over time. Consult a licensed Florida attorney about your individual circumstances. Arthur Simpson, Esq. is licensed to practice law in the State of Florida. Attorney advertising.