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Yes. Among other things, a home, a car, personal effects and clothing, and a modest amount of life insurance are usually considered exempt, meaning they do not count toward the Medicaid resource limitations. Medicaid is one of the few state or federal programs which provide assistance with nursing home expenses. Given the high cost of nursing home care, Medicaid is the only practical way to pay for nursing home care for many people.

In a few words, a trust is a legal arrangement in which a person or firm (the trustee) manages money or property for the benefit of another person (the beneficiary).

A Special Needs Trust is appropriate for a disabled person who receives means tested public benefits (usually SSI, Medicaid, VA benefits, housing subsidies, or other benefits), or who inherits money, or who receives a settlement or a gift.

Yes. It stands to reason that if the funds in the trust were as easily available as they would be in a bank account there would be little reason the assets in the trust would not also disqualify the disabled person. For this reason, there are limitations on the purposes for which the funds in the trust can be spent; in general, the trust assets cannot be spent for food and shelter or other needs public benefits in general are intended to provide. Since cash disqualifies many disabled persons from their benefit programs, Special Needs Trusts usually pay expenses for disabled persons and do not distribute cash to the disabled person.

Yes. The legal rules applicable to special needs trusts are often very complex, and the advice of an attorney familiar with SSI, Medicaid, and other means tested public benefit programs is often essential to prevent distributions from inadvertently disqualifying the disabled person from such public benefit programs.