Effective July 1, 2005, the State of Minnesota passed
a Statute which stated that all irrevocable trusts will be deemed revocable when
a person applies for Medical Assistance (originally codified as Minn. Stat.
§ 501B.895 and recodified as § 501C.1206 with the adoption of the Uniform
Trust Code in 2016). This effectively eliminated the ability, in the State of
Minnesota, to use irrevocable trusts to shelter assets from being counted in a
Medical Assistance eligibility determination, even if such trust was created and
funded prior to the look-back period for uncompensated
transfers.
On July 12, 2022, the Minnesota
Court of Appeals, in a precedential opinion that was not appealed further, held
that this statute was “preempted” by federal law and therefore unenforceable.
Since this opinion was issued, the Minnesota Department of Human Services has
issued a bulletin providing some guidance for how Medical Assistance will treat
irrevocable trusts going forward and a bill was signed by Governor Walz on June
2, 2022, which repealed Minn. Stat. § 501C.1206 in its entirety effective June
3, 2022. In this CLE, information will be presented concerning the use of
Irrevocable Trusts to shelter assets from being counted in determining Medical
Assistance eligibility after the foregoing events; the risks and benefits of
particular trust provisions commonly used in Irrevocable Trusts, including
potential estate recovery issues; and the potential for future litigation given
some of the positions taken by the Minnesota Department of Human
Services.
This CLE is approved for credit through
October 7, 2024.
Presenter:
Michael Teeter | Lead
Attorney | Asset Protection and Medical Assistance | Safe Harbor Estate
Law
CLE Credits:
1.0 Standard CLE Credit approved | Event
Code: 473469
Cost:
MSBA Members: $29.95
Non-MSBA
Members: $64.95