Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in Wisconsin

Giving assets from a trust back to the trust's creator might be legal, but a better question is what affects such a gift might have on the grantor's eligibility for Medicaid or how much it increases his tax liabilities. Irrevocable trusts are usually created with goals either of reducing income or estate taxes or for making someone eligible government benefits (typically long term care or medical expense funding from Medicaid which is a poverty based program, so the grantor is only eligible if he remains poor). Giving money back to the grantor therefore might defeat either or both of these purposes. Due to those possibilities, I cannot advise whether such gifts are a good idea without first reviewing the trust and determining all of its purposes. I would therefore recommend consulting closely with the lawyer who created the trust or any other experienced estate planning lawyer before you attempt this. Please do not assume that I am your attorney because of my response here, but feel free to call my office in Racine (262-633-3090 or email [email protected]) for clarifications regarding my answer. Otherwise, under the rules of this website, I would not be taking any further action on your case. See me on the web at www.jayknixonlaw.com. View my past answers at http://www.avvo.com/attorneys/53401-wi-jay-nixon-1529181/answers.html?sort=recency , or see an even larger collection of responses at http://www.lawguru.com/answers/search/attorney/jknixon, . Answers may contain attorney advertising materials..