Ohio’s Medicaid estate recovery notice, Form 7.0A, is a one-page probate form that the executor, administrator, or person filing for release from administration must send to the Ohio Attorney General’s Office within thirty days of appointment or of filing the release application. The form tells the state that an estate has been opened for someone who may have received Medicaid, and it starts the clock on whether the state will file a recovery claim. Getting the form right and mailing it on time keeps the estate moving and protects you from personal exposure if you distribute assets before a possible claim is resolved.
Who Files and by When
Ohio Revised Code 2117.061 puts the notice obligation on the “person responsible for the estate” whenever the decedent was subject to the Medicaid estate recovery program, or was the spouse of someone who was.1Ohio Legislative Service Commission. Ohio Code 2117.061 – Notice of Receipt of Medicaid Benefits to Administrator of Estate Recovery Program That phrase covers the executor, administrator, commissioner, or the person who filed for release from administration under ORC 2113.03.
Two events start the thirty-day clock:
- The probate court issues letters of administration or letters testamentary. Thirty days runs from that date.
- You file an application for release from administration or summary release. Thirty days runs from the filing date.
The recovery program itself, established under ORC 5162.21, applies to two groups: any permanently institutionalized individual regardless of age, and individuals who were fifty-five or older when they received Medicaid services.2Ohio Legislative Service Commission. Ohio Code 5162.21 – Medicaid Estate Recovery Program If you are not sure whether the decedent was enrolled, check their records for Medicaid cards or benefit statements, or contact the county Department of Job and Family Services. When in doubt, file. Submitting the form when it turns out to be unnecessary causes no harm; failing to submit it when required can stall the estate indefinitely.
Get the Right Form
You need Form 7.0A, “Notice to Administrator of Medicaid Estate Recovery Program.” It is a standardized probate form published by the Supreme Court of Ohio and available on that court’s website and through most county probate courts.3Supreme Court of Ohio. Form 7.0A – Notice to Administrator of Medicaid Estate Recovery Program
Do not send ODM 07400. That is a separate informational handout from the Ohio Department of Medicaid explaining how the recovery program works.4Ohio Department of Medicaid. ODM 07400 – Ohio Medicaid Estate Recovery It has no fields for decedent information and is not what the Attorney General expects to receive. Reading it is useful background; it is not the notice.
Filling Out Form 7.0A
Have the following on hand before you start. The form is short, but every field needs to be right the first time because the Attorney General’s office uses this information to match the decedent against Medicaid enrollment records.
- Decedent’s full legal name as it appears on official records
- Last known residential address
- Date of birth and age at death
- Date of death from the death certificate
- Social Security number
Below the identifying information, three checkboxes appear. Check every one that applies and attach what each requires:3Supreme Court of Ohio. Form 7.0A – Notice to Administrator of Medicaid Estate Recovery Program
- Schedule of Assets attached. Include a copy of the Schedule of Assets (Form 6.1) or the Assets and Liabilities form (Form 5.1) you filed with the probate court.
- Non-probate assets schedule attached. Prepare a separate schedule listing any real or personal property in which the decedent held a legal interest at death, including property passing by joint tenancy, tenancy in common, survivorship, life estate, or living trust. Ohio’s definition of a recoverable estate reaches well beyond probate property under Ohio Administrative Code 5160:1-2-07, so leaving these assets off the schedule does not shield them; it just invites a later inquiry that delays closing the estate.5Ohio Legislative Service Commission. Ohio Administrative Code 5160:1-2-07 – Medicaid: Estate Recovery
- Spousal notice. Check this if the decedent’s pre-deceased spouse was the person subject to the recovery program and you are submitting a separate notice for that spouse.
Sign and print your name at the bottom, and give a current mailing address and phone number. Use legible print or type throughout. A transposed digit in the Social Security number is a common cause of processing delays.
Where to Send It
Mail the completed form and its attachments to:
Medicaid Estate Recovery
30 East Broad Street, 14th Floor
Columbus, Ohio 432153Supreme Court of Ohio. Form 7.0A – Notice to Administrator of Medicaid Estate Recovery Program
Use certified mail with return receipt requested. The signed green card is your proof that the Attorney General’s office received the notice and the date it arrived, which is what starts the state’s response window. Keep the certified mail receipt, the return receipt, a photocopy of the completed form, and every attachment in your estate file. Probate judges routinely ask to see this documentation before approving a final accounting or distribution.
One point that catches people out: the notice is not filed with the probate court. The form states that it is not a public record and should not be filed in probate.3Supreme Court of Ohio. Form 7.0A – Notice to Administrator of Medicaid Estate Recovery Program Separately, ORC 2117.061(C) requires you to check a box on the appropriate probate form, typically the fiduciary’s application or entry, indicating that you have complied with the notice requirement.1Ohio Legislative Service Commission. Ohio Code 2117.061 – Notice of Receipt of Medicaid Benefits to Administrator of Estate Recovery Program The court is told you sent the notice; it does not receive a copy of the notice itself.
After You File
Once the Attorney General’s office has the form, ORC 2117.061(D) gives the Medicaid estate recovery administrator until the later of two dates to present a claim: ninety days after receiving your notice, or one year after the decedent’s death.1Ohio Legislative Service Commission. Ohio Code 2117.061 – Notice of Receipt of Medicaid Benefits to Administrator of Estate Recovery Program The ninety-day window does not even begin until you file, so filing early only helps you.
During that period, the office reviews the decedent’s Medicaid history and calculates the total benefits paid. If it pursues recovery, it sends a formal claim letter stating the amount, which you then handle like any other creditor claim against the estate. Do not distribute to heirs or beneficiaries until the deadline has passed or any claim is resolved. Distributing while a potential claim is outstanding can create personal liability for the executor.
If the ninety-day-or-one-year deadline passes without a claim, the state has forfeited its right to recover from the estate, and you can proceed with distribution.
Exemptions and Hardship Waivers Come Later
You still file Form 7.0A within the thirty-day deadline even when you believe recovery will not proceed. The notice obligation exists regardless of whether the state will ultimately have a valid claim.
Ohio law defers recovery while a surviving spouse is alive, while the decedent has a surviving child under twenty-one, or while the decedent has a surviving child of any age who is blind or permanently and totally disabled.5Ohio Legislative Service Commission. Ohio Administrative Code 5160:1-2-07 – Medicaid: Estate Recovery Additional protections apply to the decedent’s home when a qualifying sibling or caretaker child has lived there for the required period. The correct sequence is to file the notice, then assert the exemption when the claim arrives.
When the Attorney General sends a claim, you have thirty days from the date it was mailed to respond with evidence that assets are exempt or that a family-based deferral applies. If the decedent’s circumstances do not fit an automatic exemption but recovery would cause severe financial harm to a survivor, an heir or other person with an interest in the estate can request an undue hardship waiver from the Ohio Department of Medicaid within thirty calendar days after the claim is mailed.5Ohio Legislative Service Commission. Ohio Administrative Code 5160:1-2-07 – Medicaid: Estate Recovery A creditor of the estate cannot file the hardship request unless the creditor is also a potential heir.
If no defenses apply, the Medicaid claim becomes a debt of the estate and is paid according to Ohio’s statutory priority for creditor claims, alongside items such as funeral expenses and administration costs. Only after valid claims are settled should you distribute what remains.