My sister has a Supplemental Needs Trust established from funds left in a guardianship account for our mother who is deceased. She (my sister) has been on SSI all of her life because she is mentally challenged and cannot work.. She also has a daughter who is thirty and has a city job. It's just the three of us. I manage and do the account recording for the SNT. What happens to the SNT funds after she departs this earth? Will it go to Medicaid?
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So you need to look at how the trust is performing (how it is invested) and what the anticipated zero point is. The trust has to have income being made in order to continue to live, so how is all that going?
My cousin still lives at home and so is NOT on Medicaid for NH or for other services. He is on Medicare for medical stuff. What is our understanding is that IF he later on needs to go into a NH and applies for Medicaid to pay for the NH, then any revocable cash value in the SNT will have to be used in the spend-down. This is similar in how Medicaid looks at term life insurance policies VS. whole life insurance policies. Term has no cash value so is ignored by Medicaid while a whole life policy has a cash value. So the whole life policies have to be cashed in before Medicaid will pay. Same for a cash value funeral policy.
If you look at the SNT and don't understand what's what, then really you need to schedule an appointment with the attorney who drew up the SNT. Good luck.
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