Pikula v. Department of Social Services
Connecticut Supreme Court
138 A.3d 212 (2016)
Marian Pikula (plaintiff) was a beneficiary, along with her sister, of a trust her father John's will created, funded mainly by the sale of his home (yielding just under $170,000), with a trustee holding sole, absolute, and unquestionable discretion over whether to distribute income or principal for Marian's support, free from any liability for those decisions. When Marian applied for Medicaid after needing long-term care, Connecticut's Department of Social Services (defendant) denied the application, counting the trust as an available asset that pushed her over the Medicaid asset limit; the trial court agreed and dismissed her appeal, and Marian appealed further.
Whether a supplemental-needs trust that gives the beneficiary no legal right to compel distributions is an available resource for purposes of Medicaid asset limits.