Estate of Gist
Iowa Supreme Court
763 N.W.2d 561 (2009)
Alice and Glenn Pirie's trust for their daughter Elenore Gist required the trustee to pay her income and assets "as may be necessary to provide her with a reasonable standard of living, considering any other means of support" she had, and included a spendthrift provision restricting payment of her creditors' claims except as necessary to fulfill the trust's purposes. After Elenore, who had received Medicaid (Title XIX) benefits for years, died, the state (plaintiff) filed a probate claim to recover the medical assistance it had paid; the trustees (defendants) denied the claim, but the district court found the trust was a discretionary support trust that had to repay the medical assistance debt, and the trustees appealed.
Whether, if a beneficiary of a discretionary trust can require the trustee to make payments to the beneficiary, the trust assets are considered available assets for determining Medicaid eligibility.