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terminates if the grantor (or someone else) takes some action is also considered a revocable trust. An irrevocable trust may be accessible and countable for Medicaid eligibility purposes.

For trusts created on or after 8/11/93, a revocable trust is considered an accessible resource. For example, if the trust document states the trust can only be modified or terminated by a court, it is considered to be available since the grantor/representative can petition the court to terminate the trust (regardless of whether or not the court chooses to modify or terminate the trust). See Medicaid Qualifying Trusts in this section for trusts established prior to 8/11/93. When the grantor, beneficiary, or trustee has access to a revocable or irrevocable trust created after 8/11/93, regardless of the stated use of the funds, the trust principal is treated as a countable resource. If the trust principal is available under any circumstances, it is a countable resource, if the trust was created after 8/11/93.

NOTE: Nearly any trust created on or after 8/11/93 can be counted when determining Medicaid eligibility, other than those special needs trusts and self-sufficiency trusts that comply with specific criteria in the federal law. No clause or requirement in a trust, no matter how specifically it applies to Medicaid or other federal or state programs, precludes a trust from being considered a resource.

EXAMPLE:

Accessible Trust - The grandparents of a child receiving family-related Medicaid are the sole contributors to an investment fund for the child’s benefit. The child’s mother is the custodian of the fund (trustee). The grandparents state that the money is intended for the child’s college education and not for basic necessities. ACTION: These funds are available as a resource to the child, and must be counted. Access to the funds is not restricted and the child is not obligated, in the legal sense, to use the funds for his/her college education. Further, the trust may be a countable resource to the grandparents if the trust is revocable.

TRUST INCOME:

This section applies to trusts created on or after 8/11/93.

Unless otherwise excluded, dividends, interest, rents and other trust income than can be paid to or for the trust beneficiary’s benefit is countable in the month it becomes available, regardless of whether the income is actually paid. Trust income that can be but is not distributed to the beneficiary, and is instead retained in the trust, is a countable resource beginning the month following the month the income could have been distributed. This is true even if the remainder of the trust principal is excluded.

Monies withdrawn from the principal of an inaccessible or excluded trust, unless otherwise excluded, are countable income in the month received; because an accessible or countable trust is a countable resource, funds withdrawn from the principal are excluded as income. The funds cannot be counted as both income and a resource in the same month. Monies received by the trustee and used for the care and maintenance of a third party beneficiary (adult or child) are excluded as income for the trustee.

MEDICAID QUALIFYING TRUSTS (MQT):

An MQT may be a revocable or irrevocable trust or similar legal device which:

1. was established with the client’s own resources; 2. was established by the client, client’s spouse, client’s parent or client’s legal guardian; 3. names the client as beneficiary of all or part of the payments;