Revocable Trusts and CT Medicaid
The treatment of assets owned by a revocable trust for Title 19 Medicaid eligibility in Connecticut has been clearly established by our Department of Social Services for many years. However, every once in a while I do run into someone that thinks somehow, in some way, using a revocable trust is competent Medicaid asset protection.
The thinking generally is along the lines of: “but I don’t own anything, my trust owns all my property.” Trust me, this is not a novel idea. People have tried to use that argument for many years. The Department and the Congress have evaluated countless Title 19 Medicaid eligibility cases involving revocable trusts and they have adapted.
The reality of the situation is that with a revocable trust, the trust owner continues to have complete control over their property even if they are no longer the owner of record. Connecticut’s Department of Social Services recognized this long ago and implemented regulations that in practical terms attribute the assets owned by a revocable trust to the owner of the trust. The bottom line is this: if you are using a revocable trust to shelter assets and create eligibility for Title 19 Medicaid benefits in Connecticut, I strongly recommend you obtain a second opinion on that strategy from a qualified Medicaid attorney.
My comments here are limited to revocable trusts. In some cases there are other trust planning options that do provide some degree of Medicaid asset protection; however, those trusts are not revocable.
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Index Tags: asset protection, living trust, medicaid eligibility, title 19 medicaid
