Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in California

Re: Setting Up Trust after Illness

in a nutshell, if your friend still has the requisite mental capacity from a legal standpoint (not necessarily medical), he would still be able to set up a trust to effectuate his intentions to provide for his children in the manner you have described here briefly. if you would like further legal assistance in this matter, contact us today for a free consultation.

Re: Setting Up Trust after Illness

Assuming he is still mentally capable, he can transfer to a trust. However, a Judge will still have discretion to dissolve the trust and disburse to his creditors including the hospital if it serves the interests of justice.

Re: Setting Up Trust after Illness

I'm sorry to hear of your friends illness. If he is found to have the mental capacity to create a trust, he may create a trust and attempt to shelter that asset from medical bills. However, the court may direct the trustee to sell the house in order to pay for his medical bills. If you are close friend, I would suggest that you help him in getting a will and a durable power of attorney for health care. I know that this is a difficult subject to discuss, especially right after he had surgery and is expecting a full recovery, but it may alleviate a lot of stress upon his family in the event he needs more care. Good luck.

Re: Setting Up Trust after Illness

He can set up a trust, but I think you're also asking about reimbursement to the state's Medi-Cal program. There may be ways to shield his estate from the bills, but it's a complex area of the law and he should get advice from an attorney familiar with Medi-Cal before proceeding with a trust. An ordinary revocable living trust is good in that it will take care of naming agents and trustees, and will get the assets to the beneficiaries, but it will not deal with the medical bill issues.