Tuesday, November 11, 2014

Must a Trustee Charge Rent to an SSI and/or Medicaid Recipient?

In my blog post of May 3, 2012, I addressed a related and basic question “Can a Special Needs Trust Own a House for the Benefit of a Disabled Person Receiving SSI and/or Medicaid?” 

 This post will address the issue of charging rent to the beneficiary to avoid the loss of SSI and/or Medicaid.  The Social Security POMS set forth at SI 1120.200F speak to this issue as follows:

F.   Policy – Home ownership/purchase of a home by a trust

1.   Home as a Resource

If the trustee of a trust which is not a resource for SSI purposes purchases and holds title to a house as a home for the beneficiary, the house would not be a resource to the beneficiary.  It would also not be a resource if the beneficiary moved from the house.  The trust holds legal title to the house, therefore, the eligible individual would be considered to be living in his or her own home based on having an “equitable ownership under a trust.”
 
If the trust is a resource to the individual, the home is subject to exclusion under SI 01130.100.
 
2.   Rent-free shelter 

An eligible individual does not receive in-kind support and maintenance (ISM) in the form of rent-free shelter while living in a home in which he or she has an ownership interest.  Accordingly, an individual with “equitable home ownership under a trust” (see SI 01120.200F.1.) does not receive rent-free shelter.  Also, because we consider such an individual to have an ownership interest, payment of rent by the beneficiary to the trust has no effect on the SSI payment.  (Emphasis supplied.) 

In the past, the Oklahoma Medicaid program required the Trustee to charge rent to the Medicaid beneficiary in order to avoid the potential loss of Medicaid benefits due to the “receipt” of [phantom] income in the form of free rent.  The “phantom” income would be equal to the fair market rental rate of the dwelling.  However, this rule has been recently changed to follow the same rule as the POMS.  Thus, a Trustee will no longer be forced to charge rent to a disabled beneficiary living in a dwelling held by a trust that was established for the beneficiary.  However, payments by the trust of certain household expenses, will still be deemed “income” to the Medicaid and/or SSI recipient.  Examples of such “household costs” include mortgage payments, real property taxes, and utilities.  However, the Oklahoma Medicaid program does not consider phone, cable TV, internet access, satellite TV, etc., as utilities, and payment of those expenses by a trust for the benefit of a beneficiary will not be treated as “income” to the beneficiary. 

SI 1120.20F.3.C. of the POMS states:

If the trust pays for other shelter or household operating expenses, these payments would be income in the form of ISM (“In-Kind Support and Maintenance”) in the month the individual has use of the item (see SI 00835.350).  Countable shelter expenses are listed at SI 00835.465D (and include such expenses as mortgage payments, real property taxes, and utilities).  [emphasis added] 

If the trust pays for improvements or renovations to the home [owned by the trust], e.g., renovations to the bathroom to make it handicapped accessible or installation of a wheelchair ramp or assistance devises, etc., the individual does not receive income.  Disbursements from the trust for improvements increase the value of the resource and, unlike household operating expenses, do not provide ISM.  (See SI 01120.200E.1.c.) [emphasis added]

In addition to the list of “household costs” recited in the POMS section cited above [SI 00835.465D], there is also this: 

NOTE:  Condominium fees in themselves are not household costs.  However, condominium fees may include charges which are household costs (e.g., garbage removal).  To the extent that such charges are identifiable, use them in the computation of inside and outside ISM.   

However, if the house is not owned by a trust for the benefit of the Medicaid beneficiary but instead by a third party (e.g., parent, sibling, or non-related party) payment of rent by the trustee will be deemed income to the SSI/Medicaid recipient and will likely affect and may cause a loss of those benefits.  Each case must be evaluated carefully so that interference with receipt of public benefits does not occur. 

 
Curtis J. Shacklett
Barber & Bartz
525 S. Main Street, Suite 800
Tulsa, Oklahoma 74103-4511
Telephone: (918) 599-7755
Facsimile: (918) 599-7756
E-mail: cshacklett@barberbartz.com



 

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