Probate & Trust Law Section Conference Manual ... - Minnesota CLE

traditional SupplementalNeedsTrust. Contact Kimberly Bahl for more information:
Kimberly.Bahl@lssmn.org | 651.310.9420.
b. Alternatives to a SpecialNeedsTrust
For a person with a disability who finds that he or she has excess assets who might consider a
SpecialNeedsTrust the alternatives might include:
i. Temporary Loss of Public Assistance
In the right and rare case, the potentialTrustbeneficiary might be fine if she loses her eligibility
for public assistance for a period of time. When assets are once again reduced to qualification
levels, the person can reapply. This possibility must be approached with caution because in
many cases the loss of benefits could be catastrophic to health and/or safety. Some programs
may have limited availability and the temporary loss of benefit could turn into a long waiting list
to get back on. Completing an application for Medical Assistance and other programs is a time
consuming and stressful task that the individual may not want to experience for a second time.
ii.
Reimburse and Remain on Benefits
For an individual with a relatively small amount of excess assets who does not have and does
not anticipate a need for resources to pay for items outside of the basic needs to be met with
the assistance programs, it might be worth considering payment of the excess assets to the
County or State as a reimbursement for Medical Assistance benefits already paid. The
individual remains eligible for programs but no longer has the excess assets to pay for extra
items that might arise in the future.
iii.
AssetReduction
For an individual with a relatively small amount of excess assets who sees value in spending the
funds in short order on items that will add to his or her quality of life, the excess assets can be
reduced by spending them, typically on items considered exempt for purposes of financial
eligibility determinations or on services.Each of the following asset reduction ideas is fraught
with its own set of rules and considerations related to public assistance eligibility so each must
be approached with care:
iv.
Prefunded Funeral
The value of a properly structured pre‐planned, pre‐funded funeral is an exempt asset under
the Medical Assistance and SSI programs. The services of a savvy funeral director are invaluable
to implement this successfully.
5 Supplemental & Special Needs Trust Basics | Jeffrey W. Schmidt