WAC 182-527-2810 Life estates and joint tenancy

1. The department may enforce a lien authorized under this section against a decedent's life estate or joint tenancy interest in real property held by the decedent immediately prior to his or her death until the lien is satisfied. The department will not apply a lien against a decedent's life estate interest providing the decedent had not previously transferred an interest in the property while retaining a life estate.

   1. The value of the life estate subject to the lien is the fair market value of the decedent's interest in the property subject to the life estate immediately prior to death.

   2. The value of the joint tenancy interest subject to the lien is the value of the decedent's fractional interest he or she would have owned in the jointly held interest in the property had the decedent and the surviving joint tenants held title to the property as tenants in common immediately prior to death.

2. The department's methodology for calculating the value of the life estate is determined using fair market value of the property. To determine the value of the life estate, the department multiplies the current fair market value of the property by the life estate factor in the life estate table. (The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services based table is found in the department's Eligibility A-Z Manual, Long Term Care, Appendix II and is available on-line at: http://www.dshs.wa.gov/manuals/eaz/.