I. The estate of every recipient and the estate of a recipient’s spouse, if any, owned severally or as joint tenants, shall be liable for all financial old age assistance, aid to the needy blind, or aid to the permanently and totally disabled granted to the recipient; provided, however, that the estate of a recipient’s spouse shall be liable only for such financial assistance as was granted to the recipient during the time that the recipient and the recipient’s spouse were neither legally separated nor divorced. After providing all owners of the real property known to the department with prior notice and an opportunity for a hearing, the commissioner of the department of health and human services shall file with the register of deeds of the county in which the recipient, or the spouse of the recipient, if any, owns real property, notice of the lien. Such notice of lien shall contain the names of the recipient and the recipient’s spouse, if any. All such liens shall continue during the lifetime of the recipient and of the spouse of the recipient, if any, and until enforced as provided in this section, unless sooner released by the commissioner of the department of health and human services. The register of deeds shall keep a suitable record of such notices of lien without charging any fee therefore and enter on the record an acknowledgment of satisfaction or release upon written request from the commissioner of the department of health and human services.
II. Subject to N.H. Rev. Stat. § 167:16-a, the estate of every recipient shall be liable for all medical assistance granted to the recipient, and the commissioner of the department of health and human services shall file a claim for recovery against the recipient’s estate. No notice of lien may be filed against real property with respect to medical assistance except in conformance with N.H. Rev. Stat. § 167:16-a.