# Kentucky — Medicaid Estate Recovery Rules by State

For Kentucky, what counts as the estate is All real and personal property or other assets owned by the deceased recipient that would be included as probate property under Kentucky law; and (b) All real and personal property or other assets in which the deceased recipient had legal title or interest at the time of death, to the extent of the recipient's interest, whether the asset was conveyed to a survivor, heir or assign of the deceased recipient through joint tenancy, tenancy in common survivorship, life estate, living trust or other arrangement; survivor protections is Recovery shall not be made from the estate if the estate representative can verify to the department's satisfaction that there is a: (a) Surviving spouse; or (b) Surviving child; citation is 907 KAR 1:585, recorded from its source on 2026-08-31.

- **State:** Kentucky _(our reading, not quoted from the source)_
- **What counts as the estate:** All real and personal property or other assets owned by the deceased recipient that would be included as probate property under Kentucky law; and (b) All real and personal property or other assets in which the deceased recipient had legal title or interest at the time of death, to the extent of the recipient's interest, whether the asset was conveyed to a survivor, heir or assign of the deceased recipient through joint tenancy, tenancy in common survivorship, life estate, living trust or other arrangement. _(verified: appears in its own passage below)_
- **Survivor protections:** Recovery shall not be made from the estate if the estate representative can verify to the department's satisfaction that there is a: (a) Surviving spouse; or (b) Surviving child. _(verified: appears in its own passage below)_
- **Undue hardship waiver:** The department shall waive estate recovery to the extent the recovery would work an undue hardship. (a) Undue hardship shall exist if an asset subject to recovery is the sole income-producing asset, for example a family farm or business, conveyed to the surviving recipient family member. A sole income-producing asset shall not include residential real property producing income through a lease or rental arrangement. _(verified: appears in its own passage below)_
- **Citation:** 907 KAR 1:585 _(our reading, not quoted from the source)_

## What the source says

> 907 KAR 1:585. Estate recovery. RELATES TO: KRS 205.520, 205.619, 304.14-640, 42 C.F.R. 430.10, 435.236, 42 U.S.C. 1396p(b)(1)-(4) STATUTORY AUTHORITY: KRS 194A.030(2), 194A.050(1), 205.520(3), EO 2004-726 NECESSITY, FUNCTION, AND CONFORMITY: The Cabinet for Health and Family Services, Department for Medicaid Services has responsibility to administer the Medicaid Program. KRS 205.520(3) empowers the cabinet, by administrative regulation, to comply with any requirement that may be imposed or opportunity presented by federal law for the provision of medical assistance to Kentucky's indigent citizenry. 42 U.S.C. 1396p(b)(1)-(4) establishes minimum requirements for state plans for estate recovery actions. This administrative regulation establishes provisions relating to estate recovery.

## 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

> (3) "Estate" means: (a) All real and personal property or other assets owned by the deceased recipient that would be included as probate property under Kentucky law; and (b) All real and personal property or other assets in which the deceased recipient had legal title or interest at the time of death, to the extent of the recipient's interest, whether the asset was conveyed to a survivor, heir or assign of the deceased recipient through joint tenancy, tenancy in common survivorship, life estate, living trust or other arrangement.

### Survivor protections

> Section 3. Exemptions and Limitations. (1) Recovery shall not be made from the estate if the estate representative can verify to the department's satisfaction that there is a: (a) Surviving spouse; or (b) Surviving child.

### Undue hardship waiver

> (3) The department shall waive estate recovery to the extent the recovery would work an undue hardship. (a) Undue hardship shall exist if an asset subject to recovery is the sole income-producing asset, for example a family farm or business, conveyed to the surviving recipient family member. A sole income-producing asset shall not include residential real property producing income through a lease or rental arrangement.

## Source

- https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/law/kar/titles/907/001/585/

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/).