Do you need a Miller Trust?
If a Texas Medicaid applicant and his or her spouse has too much income you might.
One of the requirements for Texas Medicaid Nursing Home Benefits is income eligibility. If an applicant has too much income they will not received Medicaid benefits. The Miller Trust is created to help an applicant reduce their income to the level required in order to obtain Texas Medicaid benefits.
How much income is too much?
It changes. For 2010 the income limit for a single person is $2,022. For a married couple it is $4,044. If you have income that exceeds these limits your application for Texas Medicaid will be denied. The Miller Trust can solve this problem and reduce your income to the required level.
*Please note for Medicaid eligibility purposes gross income is examined, not net income. For Social Security payments, remember to add back in the Medicare deduction to find out if you are over the income limit.
What about assets?
A Miller Trust has no impact on assets, it only solves income issues. Speak with a Texas Medicaid Attorney if you need help with asset issues.
When should you start?
When dealing with nursing home costs the sooner you start the better. Delays in establishing eligibility for Texas Medicaid benefits increase the risk of gaps in coverage which may leave a family member on the hook for the costs. At the latest you should begin the process in the month you apply for Texas Medicaid benefits. Starting earlier may save you a month or two of un-reimbursed nursing home bills.
What does it cost?
I prepare Miller Trusts only for Texas residents applying for Texas Medicaid benefits. This Miller Trust is prepared by an attorney and is valid for Medicaid applications in every part of Texas. The legal fee for a Texas Miller Trust is $550. Visitors to TexasTitle19.com receive a 10% discount for a total fee of $495. This is an online only offer. Office consultations are $50 per half-hour.
How long does it take?
In most cases, Miller Trusts are completed within one week of when the required information is received.
How do you start?
To get started fill out the form below and I will contact you shortly thereafter. Please be sure your email address and phone number are correct.
Need a name of a Medicaid Attorney in Bexar County.
Dear Mr. Shea, My landlady is disabled and is currently in a type of residential/hospice setting and not expected to live more than a few months. Her daughter has asked me for some info about the Miller Trust. My landlady owns a home which I currently rent from her for $600 per month plus utilities. I am also disabled under SSA guidelines and I cannot afford to move. My landlady’s expenses for her care exceed her income substantially and her children currently have to pay the difference. Will a Miller Trust for her SSA retirement, annuity and my rent payments give her protections under the Miller Trust provisions? Her family is considering selling the home to me if I can afford it on my SSA disability check. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Many thanks. Chris
My mom has no property of anything of value. She does have retirement income (civil service $1302 and military reserves $545) and divorce property income (her 1/2 of my dad’s military retirement check $727.50) and her social security check is $117 per month. Can her divorce settlement be excluded from the eligibility? If so, I think she could qualify for Texas Medicaid benefits for nursing home.
I have her in a private non-licensed facility and she desperately wants a better place. She has stage IV colon cancer that has spread to her liver and lungs. She is currently under Hospice care.
Please advise.
Maggie
My son Joseph M. suffered a stroke on June 26, 2009 and all indicati;ons are that he is headed for long term care in a month or two is 30k gross short term care stops in Dec. then long term kicks in at about athe same rate. I don’t see how a Miller Trust can help since he is single. He is totally incapacitated and improving slowing – going home with him would be most difficult. Social Sec. is determining his disablity staus which should come athrough in a month or so…is reducing his income through legal means possible to qualify him for Medicaid?-
A Miller Trust can work if the Medicaid applicant is single or married. The key issue is if the Medicaid applicant receives too much income to be eligible for Medicaid benefits.
Every asset and source of income that is available to the Medicaid applicant is considered available. From the perspective of Medicaid eligibility, if an applicant’s income exceeds the limit the fastest way to fix it is with a Miller Trust which can be completed within a couple weeks generally. With income from a divorce, a long term option may be to modify it through the divorce court, but that will probably take longer and may cost more.
A Miller Trust does not “protect” assets or income. It is a tool to re-characterize income so that it is within the strict eligibility limits. A Miller Trust in no way increases the income or assets that a Medicaid recipient can keep, its only purpose is to restructure a person’s income to fit within the eligibility standards.
Responded to via email.
am looking for the DOWNLOAD of the application form! Where is it?
The Medicaid application can be downloaded on the following page as described above: http://texastitle19.com/texas-medicaid-application/