[WSBAPT] Trusts and Friend-Educated Clients

[Diane J. Kiepe]

In my humble opinion their interpretation can't be correct - now they can consider a Medicaid trust if that's what want to do - become poor and no assets to their name and/or no rights to said assets and then last the 5 year look back period without needing Medicaid.  Also most people don't understand that there are income restrictions on the Medicaid system.  I have seen many a trusts set up for Medicaid planning only to tell the person in front of me, this trust would have likely never worked for the purpose it was set up for because your mom/dad/spouse made too much income each month.  There simply is no way to get something without loosing something.

I also mention to my clients trying to get "free" health care that they should take a walk through some Medicaid facilities, semi-private pay and private pay - if they still think it's a good idea to make themselves poor and their income levels or such to allow it, I send them to a true Medicaid planner.

One approach when people tell me they were "told" by so and so is for me to say "great - I'm not sure where they (the people passing on this info) are coming from so could you ask them to provide me the information that the believe sets this up?  I'd love to follow up on this for my practice going forward."  I can tell you I have never gotten a response.  What it typically turns out to be is someone selling revocable living trusts which set up Medicaid trust for the surviving spouse.

Diane J. Kiepe
Douglas Eden, P.S.
717 W. Sprague Ave., Suite 1500
Spokane, WA  99201
djkiepe at depdslaw.com<mailto:djkiepe at depdslaw.com>
509-455-5300

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From: wsbapt-bounces at lists.wsbarppt.com <wsbapt-bounces at lists.wsbarppt.com> On Behalf Of Paul Neumiller
Sent: Thursday, July 27, 2023 12:55 PM
To: WSBA Probate & Trust Listserv <wsbapt at lists.wsbarppt.com>
Subject: [WSBAPT] Trusts and Friend-Educated Clients

This was a new one for me so I thought I'd bounce it off the hive-mind.  New estate planning clients have insisted they need a WA trust because the trust would make their Obama Care expenses free.  They say that their "good and very knowledgeable" friends told them that they set up a WA trust and now they qualify to get all medical expenses for free.  Any ideas?


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