New Jersey’s Department of Human Services, Division of Medical Assistance and Health Services (DMAHS), recently posted notice that it will issue new regulations on how Medicaid laws and rules apply to trusts, including special needs trusts and qualified income trusts.

Why does this matter to you?

Well, if you have a loved one with disabilities or a loved one who may need long term care in the future, or receives long term care now, odds are good that you’ll eventually be seeking Medicaid.  You might already be on Medicaid.

There’s also a chance that you’ll be using a trust to do so.  In New Jersey, people with high incomes (currently over $2,250 per month gross) have to use a Qualified Income Trust (aka Miller Trust) in order to qualify for long term care Medicaid.

And if a person with disabilities inherits money from family or receives proceeds from a lawsuit or other significant funds, often it makes sense for those funds to be held in trust with a special needs trust.

These new regulations are going to create new rules for how qualified income trusts (QIT’s) and special needs trusts (SNT’s) are treated.  If you are seeking Medicaid, or you’re on Medicaid, it’s important to understand how these new rules affect eligibility.  Or better yet, to work with a lawyer who understands that.

The regulations have yet to be issued, but you can bet that FriedmanLaw will be following this matter.  In addition, I (Mark Friedman) serve as roundtable coordinator for the New Jersey State Bar Association’s Elder and Disability Law Section, and we’ll likely be doing a program on the new regulations in February 2019.  For other attorneys who are members of the NJSBA, it would be very helpful to attend that program.