Trustor’s Income Deposited into SNT for Child Considered in Determining Medicaid Eligibility (NY)
Posted: Friday, January 29, 2010
Mrs. Hammond established a Special Needs Trust for the benefit of her adult son. She deposited all of her income, which consisted of $1,173 social security and $607 pensions, into the Special Needs Trust. She then applied for Medicaid Long Term Care benefits for herself through Nassau County Department of Social Services (hereinafter NCDSS). NCDSS found Hammond eligible for LTC benefits, but determined her full income would be used to calculate her patient liability amount.
The Supreme Court of New York held that income payable to Hammond, even if deposited into a supplemental needs trust for her adult disabled son, is included in the calculation of the her eligibility for Medicaid during her lifetime and in the calculation of the obligation of the her estate for the reimbursement of a certain portion of those benefits.
Once Hammond entered the nursing home and applied for her own Medicaid benefits, the post-eligibility regulations were triggered, and the DOH was, pursuant to its rules, required to count the income Hammond placed in son's SNT for purposes of determining her own contribution towards her post-eligibility benefits.
Jennings v. Commissioner, N.Y.S. Department of Social Services., 2010 N.Y. App. Div. Lexis 157 (January 5, 2010)
From the NAELA eBulletin January 18, 2010 -- A weekly newsletter by Professor Kim Dayton, David McGuffey, CELA, and Rajiv Nagaich. The eBulletin is published by the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys and is a benefit of NAELA membership.