Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in New York

My dad passed away last year leaving a small trust. My mother is now trustee, with us kids as "contigent remainder beneficaries." She is going into a nursing home and wants us to sign off on dissolving the trust and giving her all the money, which she claims is hers anyways. And that Medicaid will take it all either way. What should we do?


Asked on 5/04/13, 10:57 am

2 Answers from Attorneys

Walter LeVine Walter D. LeVine, Esq.

I have not seen the trust, so I cannot say it will automatically be subject to Medicaid claims. In most instances this is true, but not in all cases. The language, how it may impact Mom, when it was created, whose assets funded it and other issues need to be checked. Certainly turning the trust assets over to Mom now will subject them to Medicaid claims. I suggest having an attorney familar with Medicaid laws and their impact on your trust review all of this before some hastly action may lead to a result that might be legally avoided.

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Answered on 5/04/13, 11:54 am
David Leon David L. Leon, P.C.

Ditto. Hire a Medicaid planning attorney ASAP. You'll probably need to do a set aside + Miller trust to fix this scenario. I'd have to review the docs and situation, though.

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Answered on 5/04/13, 12:23 pm


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