Government coming back for expenses after death?
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Anonymous
| I inherited a little bit from an irrevocable trust of a relative who died of old age in a government facility. According to the law firm that oversaw the trust, it could not be touched by the relative during her lifetime and she qualified for government assistance in her last years. Now the accountant says the government can come after the beneficiaries of the trust to get reimbursed for the expenses incurred in her last years. It is not much money and I don’t care either way, but I don’t want to deal with this 10 years down the line or anything. How common is it for the IRS to come after expense reimbursements from trusts after death? |
Anonymous
| I don't think it is the IRS...they only collect taxes. It would be Medicaid? I would assume there is a time frame where it could happen. |
Anonymous
Yes it's almost surely Medicaid. And the rules are complex. You generally aren't supposed to shield your assets, but yes an irrevocable trust is a way to do it. There are sometimes "look back" periods. So you can't create a trust one day and then the next go to Medicaid and say you have no money. I think it varies by state laws- in many it's around 5 years. Don't have all the details but was talking to a friend about this. |
Anonymous
https://www.verywellhealth.com/irrevocable-trust-medicaid-4173386 So OP, my first guess is that the trust wasn't set up early enough. But the details are very important so hard for us to know. |