I have just been thinking and wanted to offer some information to anyone who might be interested.

Regarding Revocable trusts and Medicaid. Please be aware that if you have a revocable trust, and you are the trustee, If you have the ability to use the funds anyway you see fit, and your spouse enters a NH and you apply for Medicaid, the revocable trust does not protect the assests that are in the trust unless they are assets that would not be counted if outside the trust.Example: The home place is a non countable asset, so therefore if in the trust or outside the trust it would be safe for the community spouse. Likewise the car and any asset that would not have been counted otherwise. The clinker is that CD, Stocks, bonds, money and other assets WILL be counted regardless of which spouse the money belonged to before being placed in the trust.

So many attorneys will use a Trust to protect assets and only certain types of trust will give the protection from Medicaid. It has to be IRREVOCABLE, and the trustee spouse or NH patient cannot have control of how to use the assets.

I think so many people get caught up with the TRUST thing that they fail to see the whole picture and many attorneys are not aware of the fine detail, even if they are professionals.

Sunshyne
If the trust is controlled by someone other than the spouse then if the 5 year look back has been made it is safe.

I just wanted people on the forum to know that if they as the spouse were in control of when and how the assets could be used, if the trust is revocable, then unless the items in the trust would have been non countable outside the trust they are countable. people think that just because the assets are in a trust they are safe from Medicaid if applying for Medicaid NH help. This is just simply not true. If the trust is controlled by the spouse and is IRREVOCABLE and it has been 5 years then all assets within the trust are safe.