Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in Georgia

Re: Inheritence

You may want to schedule a consultation with an attorney to review all of the pertinent information and determine what your options are. Consider employing an attorney who is a member of the bar in the state where your sister participates in Medicaid.

Re: Inheritence

You ask a really good and incredibly important question -- which sadly does not get asked often enough while parents are still living and capable of creating estate plans. I see the result of the lack of planning every day in my office.

You state that your sister "will inherit." If the testator (the person who made the will) has not died, get him/her to an elder law attorney to redo the will so that her inheritance will pass to a "third party" supplemental needs trust. The elder law attorney will likely consult with an elder law attorney in your sister's state to be sure that the trust is structured in a way that will avoid disqualification for public benefits where your sister lives.

If the testator has already died, then your sister will need to have a "self-settled" supplemental needs trust. Unlike the third-party trust, the self-settled trust will mandate that the state be paid back at your sister's death to the extent it has paid Medicaid benefits.

Fees very from area to area, and the details of the plan will vary depending on facts and state laws. Find an attorney with an interest in this field at www.naela.org .