Wisconsin Statutes 49.454 – Treatment of trust amounts
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Terms Used In Wisconsin Statutes 49.454
- Assets: (1) The property comprising the estate of a deceased person, or (2) the property in a trust account.
- Following: when used by way of reference to any statute section, means the section next following that in which the reference is made. See Wisconsin Statutes 990.01
- Irrevocable trust: A trust arrangement that cannot be revoked, rescinded, or repealed by the grantor.
- Person: includes all partnerships, associations and bodies politic or corporate. See Wisconsin Statutes 990.01
- Revocable trust: A trust agreement that can be canceled, rescinded, revoked, or repealed by the grantor (person who establishes the trust).
(1) Applicability.
(a) Except as provided in sub. (4), this section applies to an individual with respect to a trust if assets of the individual or the individual’s spouse were used to form all or part of the corpus of the trust and if any of the following persons established the trust other than by will:
1. The individual.
2. The individual’s spouse.
3. A person, including a court or administrative body with legal authority to act in place of or on behalf of the individual or the individual’s spouse.
4. A person, including a court or administrative body, acting at the direction or upon the request of the individual or the individual’s spouse.
(b) If the corpus of a trust under par. (a) includes assets of a person other than the individual or the individual’s spouse, this section applies only with respect to the portion of the trust attributable to the assets of the individual or the individual’s spouse.
(2) Treatment of revocable trust amounts. For purposes of determining an individual’s eligibility for, or amount of benefits under, medical assistance:
(a) The corpus of a revocable trust is considered a resource available to the individual.
(b) Payments from a revocable trust to or for the benefit of the individual are considered income of the individual.
(c) Other payments from a revocable trust are considered transfers of assets by the individual subject to s. 49.453.
(3) Treatment of irrevocable trust amounts. For purposes of determining an individual’s eligibility for, or amount of benefits under, medical assistance:
(a) If there are circumstances under which payment from an irrevocable trust could be made to or for the benefit of the individual, the portion of the corpus from which, or the income on the corpus from which, payment to or for the benefit of the individual could be made is considered a resource available to the individual, and payments from that portion of the corpus or income:
1. To or for the benefit of the individual, are considered income of the individual.
2. For any other purpose, are considered transfers of assets by the individual subject to s. 49.453.
(b) Any portion of an irrevocable trust from which, or any income on the corpus from which, no payment could under any circumstances be made to or for the benefit of the individual, is considered to be an asset transferred by the individual subject to s. 49.453. The asset is considered to be transferred as of the date of the establishment of the trust, or, if later, the date on which payment to the individual was foreclosed. The value of the trust shall be determined for purposes of s. 49.453 by including the amount of any payments made from that portion of the trust after that date.
(4) Inapplicability. This section does not apply to any trust described in 42 U.S. Code § 1396p (d) (4) or if the department determines, pursuant to procedures established by the department by rule, that the application of this section would work an undue hardship on an individual.