Irrevocable Funeral Expense Trusts

As Medicaid budgets face extreme pressure, case workers have become more prudent as individuals attempt to qualify for public assistance. We have had questions from Medicaid case workers at the time of qualification, in certain states, regarding the exclusion of policies assigned to the Funeral Expense Trust for funeral expenses. We have noticed that by providing a list of selected funeral services and merchandise at the time of qualification, it has streamlined the application process and resolved questions from Medicaid case workers.

In preparation for such requests, we are including a statement on the Funeral Expense Trust form to read:

I understand that if I am assigning ownership to the Funeral Expense Trust, when applying for public assistance, I may be required to provide a list of services and merchandise I have selected from the funeral home of my choice.

This statement has been added to inform your clients that a request for a list of services and merchandise might be a possible scenario, depending on their state and case worker. Again, the requests have only been made when an individual is attempting to qualify for Medicaid and not at the time of application for the policy or assignment to the trust.

Since states vary on Medicaid rules, I encourage you to contact me for a copy of your state's rules regarding Funeral Expense Trusts.

Questions, please visit us at:   www.MedicaidAnnuityPlanning.com