# Illinois — Medicaid Estate Recovery Rules by State

For Illinois, what counts as the estate is The term "estate", as used in this Section, with respect to a deceased person, means all real and personal property and other assets included within the person's estate, as that term is used in the Probate Act of 1975; however, in the case of a deceased person who has received (or is entitled to receive) benefits under a long-term care insurance policy in connection with which assets or resources are disregarded to the extent that payments are made or because the deceased person received (or was entitled to receive) benefits under a long-term care insurance policy, "estate" also includes any other real and personal property and other assets in which the deceased person had any legal title or interest at the time of his or her death (to the extent of that interest), including assets conveyed to a survivor, heir, or assignee of the deceased person through joint tenancy, tenancy in common, survivorship, life estate, living trust, or other arrangement; survivor protections is but no recovery may be had thereon until after the death of the surviving spouse, if any, and then only at such time when there is no surviving child who is under age 21, or blind, or is a child with a permanent total disability; citation is 305 ILCS 5/5-13, recorded from its source on 2026-08-31.

- **State:** Illinois _(our reading, not quoted from the source)_
- **What counts as the estate:** The term "estate", as used in this Section, with respect to a deceased person, means all real and personal property and other assets included within the person's estate, as that term is used in the Probate Act of 1975; however, in the case of a deceased person who has received (or is entitled to receive) benefits under a long-term care insurance policy in connection with which assets or resources are disregarded to the extent that payments are made or because the deceased person received (or was entitled to receive) benefits under a long-term care insurance policy, "estate" also includes any other real and personal property and other assets in which the deceased person had any legal title or interest at the time of his or her death (to the extent of that interest), including assets conveyed to a survivor, heir, or assignee of the deceased person through joint tenancy, tenancy in common, survivorship, life estate, living trust, or other arrangement. _(verified: appears in its own passage below)_
- **Survivor protections:** but no recovery may be had thereon until after the death of the surviving spouse, if any, and then only at such time when there is no surviving child who is under age 21, or blind, or is a child with a permanent total disability. _(verified: appears in its own passage below)_
- **Citation:** 305 ILCS 5/5-13 _(our reading, not quoted from the source)_

## What the source says

> Sec. 5-13. Claim against estate of recipients. To the extent permitted under the federal Social Security Act, the amount expended under this Article (1) for a person of any age who is an inpatient in a nursing facility, an intermediate care facility for persons with intellectual disabilities, or other medical institution, or (2) for a person aged 55 or more, shall be a claim against the person's estate or a claim against the estate of the person's spouse, regardless of the order of death

## Where each value comes from

This source states these in separate places, so each value is shown with the passage that states it.

### What counts as the estate

> The term "estate", as used in this Section, with respect to a deceased person, means all real and personal property and other assets included within the person's estate, as that term is used in the Probate Act of 1975; however, in the case of a deceased person who has received (or is entitled to receive) benefits under a long-term care insurance policy in connection with which assets or resources are disregarded to the extent that payments are made or because the deceased person received (or was entitled to receive) benefits under a long-term care insurance policy, "estate" also includes any other real and personal property and other assets in which the deceased person had any legal title or interest at the time of his or her death (to the extent of that interest), including assets conveyed to a survivor, heir, or assignee of the deceased person through joint tenancy, tenancy in common, survivorship, life estate, living trust, or other arrangement.

### Survivor protections

> Sec. 5-13. Claim against estate of recipients. To the extent permitted under the federal Social Security Act, the amount expended under this Article (1) for a person of any age who is an inpatient in a nursing facility, an intermediate care facility for persons with intellectual disabilities, or other medical institution, or (2) for a person aged 55 or more, shall be a claim against the person's estate or a claim against the estate of the person's spouse, regardless of the order of death, but no recovery may be had thereon until after the death of the surviving spouse, if any, and then only at such time when there is no surviving child who is under age 21, or blind, or is a child with a permanent total disability.

## Source

- https://www.ilga.gov/legislation/ilcs/fulltext.asp?DocName=030500050K5-13

Last verified: 2026-08-31. Review by: 2027-08-31.
Part of [Medicaid Estate Recovery Rules by State](https://referencesource.org/medicaid-estate-recovery-rules-by-state/).