Trustee of Special Needs Trust must be cautious in making reimbursements

A person who is receiving Supplemental Security Income (SSI) from the Social Security Administration must report changes in his income or resources (assets) to SSI, because this can affect his eligibility or the amount of benefits. If countable resources exceed $2,000 on the first of a month, eligibility can be lost. If the issue is detected after the fact, there can be a resulting overpayment than can take months to straighten out. If assets are placed into, or are being held in, a Trust, there might be an impact on eligibility depending on the terms of the Trust, how those assets are distributed by the Trustee, and how much control the SSI recipient has (if any) over the assets in the trust. A Trust established with assets of the SSI recipient or applicant might be excluded from the $2,000 resource limit if it meets the many requirements  for a Special Needs Trust. Particular problems come up when somebody has been spending money on the beneficiary and…

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