Pooled & Special Needs Trusts
Medicaid Eligiblity
What is a Pooled Trust?
In 1993 Congress created the Pooled Trust to protect this country’s most vulnerable and disenfranchised segment of our citizenry the elderly and disabled.
Alpert Jewish Family& Children’s Service, Inc. has a Pooled Trust, which allows individuals who meet the definition of disabled under the rules of Social Security to place their assets in the trust to create financial eligibility for Medicaid and Supplemental Security Income. The funds are pooled for investments but separately accounted for throughout the individual’s life. If there are any funds remaining after death, the assets will either be kept in trust to support others in need or be paid back to Medicaid with any property remaining after reimbursement distributed to the disabled individual’s beneficiaries.
The trust funds can be used to enrich the quality of life of the participant instead of being quickly consumed by catastrophic medical and long-term care costs.
Trust beneficiaries will enjoy better housing, therapies, durable medical equipment, travel, recreation, and the like based on a customized and continuously updated life care plan.
You may benefit if you are
- Disabled in need of long-term nursing care at home or in a facility.
- Over the age of 65, or any age with funds from a medical malpractice, personal injury or workers compensation claim or receiving an inheritance.
- Need or receive Medicaid, Social Security Disability or Supplemental Security Income.
We offer
- A team of experts; Masters Level Social Workers, Guardians and other professionals.
- The full faith and backing of a 35 year old, well established non-profit, full-service agency with branch locations in Boynton Beach, Jupiter and Royal Palm Beach.
- A community partner with the courts, and specialized legal, banking, government, health and financial service providers.
- Sensitive and competitive trust service, fees, and costs.
Case Illustrations - The Benefits of a Pooled Special Needs Trust
Sarah
Sarah is an 85 year old woman with $200,000 in assets, including the value of her modest condo. She has just recently been placed in a nursing home because of her increasing frailty and dementia. Her family has used the Pooled Trust to protect her assets while Medicaid pays her bill to the nursing home at a rate significantly below the private pay rate. Additional services such as a private room, case manager and additional care, which are not covered by Medicaid, are being paid from the Pooled Trust. When Sarah dies the Trust will repay
Medicaid, and her remaining assets will go to the family listed in the Pooled Trust Agreement. As a result Sarah is able to obtain additional services not covered by Medicaid, save on the cost of nursing home care, and pass money on to her loved ones.
Joe
Joe is a 45-year old carpenter who had a serious accident and multiple injuries while working on a job. His injury claim was settled for $1,000,000. After extensive hospitalization and therapy, Joe was able to go home. Joe has not worked for four years due to his unstable medical condition, still has on-going doctor visits, and has had to hire caregivers for ten hours a day to assist his wife with his care. Just forty-eight months after the accident, Joe’s monies have been depleted due to his substantial healthcare costs and home care expenses. Joe did not know about a Pooled Trust.
Think about a Pooled Trust if:
- You meet Social Security’s definition of “disabled” if your medical condition renders you unable to engage in substantial employment.
- Placed in a pooled trust, your funds can supplement your current public benefits and still have Medicaid pay the cost of a nursing home or remain at home receiving other longterm care covered by Medicaid. This allows for the trust to pay for a private room, therapies, a T.V., a vehicle, education and more.
- At death, you can leave funds to others, after certain public benefits are reimbursed for the care they provided.
- Alpert Jewish Family& Children’s Service can provide, supervise and facilitate additional services, including case management, companion and home health services, etc.
A Special Needs Trust can pay for activities and services that enhance the quality of life.