Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in Illinois

Re: special needs pay back trust related to medcaid

A special needs payback trust is a trust that is established for a person who is qualifying for or is already on Medicaid assistance.

It is a complicated trust that you will need to have an estate planning attorney draft for you.

The trust allows the person to remain on or qualify for Medicaid while having the assets of the trust made available for items that are over and above the basic needs of the person (food, shelter, medical care).

When the person passes away, the trust's assets will be used in part (or in full) to repay Medicaid/Medicare for the funds that they supplied during the person's lifetime.

If there are funds left over after such repayment, they will go to the named beneficiaries of the trust (children, siblings, charities, etc.).

I hope this gets you started. Again, please seek the advice of an attorney on this. You may need to obtain court approval as well.