A Miller Trust, also called Qualified Income Trusts, is an Irrevocable Trust that provides a way for Medicaid applicants who have income over Medicaid’s limit to become eligible for Medicaid long term care. Allocating their monthly income in excess of the Medicaid income limit into a Qualified Income Trust, the applicant is permitted to qualify for Medicaid.
The person setting up the Income Diversion Trust (the grantor or settlor) can be the Medicaid applicant, his/her guardian, or power of attorney. A trustee who manages the trust and follows the guidelines set forth by the trust, must be named and must be someone other than the Medicaid applicant, such as a relative or an adult child. The state in which the Medicaid recipient will be receiving long-term care benefits must be named as the beneficiary, and upon the death of the individual, the state will receive any funds it paid into the Miller Trust that were unused. The trust is irrevocable, which means that it cannot be altered or cancelled.