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Wills, Trusts & Estates Keyed to Sterk
Pikula v. Department of Social Services
Citation:
138 A.3d 212 (2016)Facts
In 1989, John Pikula established a testamentary trust for the benefit of his two daughters, Dorothy McKee and the plaintiff, with the trust taking effect upon his death in 1991. The trust granted the trustee extensive discretion to use the trust’s income and principal for the plaintiff’s maintenance, support, and medical expenses, including the possibility of exhausting the trust principal if deemed necessary. The trust also required the trustee to consider the plaintiff’s other income or resources when deciding on disbursements, and the trustee’s decisions were final and unquestionable. In March 2012, the plaintiff entered a long-term care facility and applied for financial and medical assistance under Medicaid. At that time, the trust was valued at approximately $169,745.91. However, in May 2013, the Department of Social Services denied the plaintiff’s Medicaid application, determining that the assets in the trust exceeded the allowable asset limits for eligibility under Medicaid regulations.
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