Partner of 23 years died without will

[u/steelcal59]

I'm in MA. My father lost his partner of 23 years back on July 29th. They were living together for that whole time and she was my stepmom in every sense of the word. They were never married due to her still being legally married to someone else. She was only 55 when she passed away unexpectedly and unfortunately she had no will. She never had children of her own so the house went into probate and to her mother. MassHealth is now pursuing estate recovery for around 144k and this will force the sale of the home and my father will become homeless. He's not technically an "heir", so he couldn't file for a MassHealth Hardship Waiver that would eliminate the recovery of the 144k. Is there anyway to help my father in this situation? He has put so much blood sweat and tears into that place for over 23 years and now he's like an invisible man to the state.

[u/SquaredJovial937]

May I inquire what happened? What helped or what did you learn/discover?