My friend went to NH in Nov 2020 because of dementia. She had a small savings & I was told by NH that she would be private pay until funds were depleted, then we should apply for Medicaid. In January 2021 I told them she could not pay another month of private pay & was advised to fill out Medicaid application. I did this & supplied all the documentation they asked for on January 19. I was given a reduced amount to pay which I did for Jan, Feb, & March. In April I was told by NH that I should have set up a Millers Trust for her. Each month I was to transfer all of her income, (social security & VA assistance= $2476.70) into that trust account and pay only nursing home from that account, which I did. The reduced amount I had been given to pay in January was $2225.60 each month.(This amount was an ESTIMATE made by NH financial person) Each month the statement I received showed full amount due, BUT they crossed it out and wrote in the reduced amount to pay, which I did. Never did they say she would have to pay the difference in those months until she got approved or that Medicaid would not pick up the difference.
In October 2021 I received a notice from DHS that she had not been approved for Medicaid for January - March because her Medicaid would begin April 2021.
When she passed away November 2021, I went into office to see what her balance was. I was told she owed over $10,000.00.
Because the amount of her income was greater than their estimate of what to pay, she was denied Medicaid for some of those months.
My question is who gets the money remaining in her Miller Trust account? I have read that it goes to NH to go against her bill but also read that it goes to the state. If it goes to the NH is that how the state recovers some of what the state paid NH??
I am confused!!!!
Are you the POA? I ask because you say this was your "friend".
Are you the executor of the estate? Because this is the person who handles all of this now.
If you ARE the executor, it sounds as though you now need a consult with a Trust and Estate Attorney to work out these questions. Whatever is in the estate pays for this.
You cannot make mistakes here. So #1. Are you the person designated by legal documents as the Executor. #2. Are you able to do this duty. #3. If "yes" to both, now see an attorney to settle the estate. You should need no more than a few hours of time.
If there IS no estate, and you are NOT legally designated, and were merely a friend, then your duty is over, your friend is gone, and they can all bicker over the remaiders of any small estate. Special Trust documents, if you are a beneficiary of one will be even more important to have legal opinions on pertinent to your own State's laws.