This approach would end what he calls "inheritance protection for middle-class boomers."

So a Shiite woman would still have some good inheritance protections but would see her divorce rights diminished.

"Medicaid must not become an inheritance protection plan," Mr. Leavitt said at a convention of health care executives here.

Mr. Russo, who is chairman of the Medicaid task force for the National Academy of Elder Care Attorneys, said that inheritance protection often motivates adult children to initiate Medicaid planning.