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

e. Food & Shelter Under SSI
It is clear that any distributions from a Trust directly to an SSI recipient will be treated as
available income. The provisions of a SNT generally restrict distributions for the benefit of the
beneficiary, instructing the Trustee to make payments directly to the providers of goods or
services. These are called "vendor payments" as noted above. Vendor payments are not
treated as income for purposes of SSI (where they refer to such payments as “in‐kind income”)
except when the payments are made for the person's food or shelter. If the Trustee makes inkind
payments for food or shelter, those payments will be treated as income and the
beneficiary’s SSI benefits will be reduced accordingly. Regardless of how much is actually
distributed in‐kind, however, the reduction in benefits is capped at one‐third of the maximum
SSI benefit. If the SSI recipient is living in a house where there is equitable ownership under a
Trust for that person's benefit, the Trust's ownership will not be treated as in‐kind shelter
income. Programs Operation Manual, SI 01120.200H.
f. Accountings
Trustees have a duty to account. Special and Supplemental Needs Trusts are no exception.
With Supplemental Needs Trust (private estate planning tools) the accounting duty in enforced
only to the extent the Trustee undertakes the duty or if the beneficiary or someone looking out
for the beneficiary’s interests demands an accounting.
For Special Needs Trusts the duty to account is often enforced through outside forces. A
Special Needs Trust might be Court supervised, as described below, and accountings will be
filled with the Court each year. If the individual is receiving government assistance, the body
administering any of those programs could request an accounting of Trust activity. And for
Special Needs Trust beneficiaries who are receiving Medical Assistance benefits, an accounting
must be filed with the Department of Human Services each year.
For all applications or renewals for Medical Assistance benefits submitted on or after July 1,
2009, Minnesota Statutes, section 501B.89, subdivision 4 requires the Trustee of any
SpecialNeedsTrust to submit the following items to the Minnesota Department of Human
Services, Special Recovery Unit:
(1) A copy of the Trust instrument; and
(2) An inventory of the beneficiary’sTrust account assets and the value of those assets.
The Trustee will then be required to file an accounting with the Special Recovery Unit at least
annually until the beneficiary’s interest in the Trust terminates. The suggested scheduling for
these accountings is the anniversary date of the Trust’s execution. The presumed accounting
period is 12 months. The accounting must include the following information for the accounting
period:
19 Supplemental & Special Needs Trust Basics | Jeffrey W. Schmidt