(Revised 01/03 ML #2833)
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(N.D.A.C. Section 75-02-02.1-31 and 75-02-02.1-31.1)
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A trust is an arrangement whereby a person (the "grantor" or "trustor") gives property to another (the "trustee") with instructions to use the property for the benefit of a third person (the "beneficiary"). The positions of grantor, trustee, and beneficiary occur in all trusts, but it is not uncommon for a single trust to involve more than one grantor, trustee, or beneficiary. It is also not uncommon for a grantor to establish a trust in which the grantor is also a beneficiary or the trustee is also a beneficiary. The property placed in trust is called the "principal" or "corpus".
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A trust includes any legal instrument or device, whether or not written, which is similar to a trust.
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Trusts are often very individualized arrangements, and generalizations about them can prove inaccurate. Trusts may, or may not, make income or assets available to an applicant or recipient. Also, when an applicant or recipient creates a trust, income or assets put into the trust may be a disqualifying transfer. A thorough review of each trust is necessary to determine its effect, if any, on eligibility. Send trusts to the Legal Advisory Unit for review. (See IM 4896)
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Applicant as trustee.
An applicant or recipient who is a trustee has the legal ownership of trust property and the legal powers to distribute income or trust assets which are described in the trust. However, those powers may be exercised only on behalf of trust beneficiaries. If the trustee or other members of the Medicaid unit are not also beneficiaries or grantors to whom trust income or assets are treated as available, trust assets are not available to the trustee.
