Living Trust And Medicaid Eligibility

During the look back period medicaid checks to ensure no assets were sold or given away for less than they are worth in order for one to meet the asset eligibility limit.

Living trust and medicaid eligibility.

Most people do not know how the revocable living trust interplays with medicaid rules for long term care medical assistance eligibility. Under sb 833 medi cal s ability to seek reimbursement for amounts paid from a medi cal recipient s estate would be limited to assets which pass as part of the deceased medi cal recipients probate estate the. Medicaid will pay for a nursing home subject to some rules one of which concerns your assets. The medicaid program will pay for long term care if you can obtain eligibility.

For medicaid purposes the transfer of assets to a medicaid asset protection trust is seen as a gift. Medicaid considers the principal of such trusts that is the funds that make up the trust to be assets that are countable in determining medicaid eligibility thus revocable trusts are of no use in medicaid planning. Prior to discussing medicaid s eligibility requirements for assisted living senior living it is helpful for the reader to understand how medicaid pays for assisted living. If you establish and fund a revocable living trust the assets in the trust would be counted by medicaid if you were ever to apply for coverage.

Medicaid is a joint federal and state program that together with the children s health insurance program chip provides health coverage to over 72 5 million americans including children pregnant women parents seniors and individuals with disabilities. All living trusts are not created the same and this is a crucial issue if you re planning to use one as a way to qualify for medicaid for your long term care. A revocable trust is one that may be changed or rescinded by the person who created it. You may be aware of the fact that this program is only available to people with very limited financial resources.

The cost of setting up a medicaid trust depends on its terms other planning and the number value and nature of assets being protected. Under the new law for decedents dying after january 1 2017 assets held in a living trust would be immune from recovery. The medicaid agency and a state court determined that her assets including those in the trust exceeded the allowable asset limit for medicaid eligibility. The living trust can cause major problems.

The countable assets limit for these benefits in mississippi is 4 000 for a single individual higher for a spouse at home. This can result in a period. Every advisor who recommends a trust or does estate planning should understand how the living trust affects the medicaid spenddown. Therefore it violates the look back rule.

A typical medicaid trust might cost between 5 000 and 10 000.