Current through Register Vol. 48, No. 38, September 20, 2024
a) This Section applies to trusts established
on or after August 11, 1993.
b) A
trust is any arrangement in which a grantor transfers property to a trustee or
trustees with the intention that it be held, managed or administered by the
trustee or trustees for the benefit of the grantor or designated beneficiaries.
A trust also includes any legal instrument or device that is similar to a
trust, including an annuity.
c) A
person shall be considered to have established a trust if resources of the
person were used to form all or part of the principal of the trust and the
trust is established (other than by will) by any of the following:
1) the person;
2) the person's spouse; or
3) any other person, including a court or
administrative body, with legal authority to act on behalf of or at the
direction of the person or the person's spouse.
d) This Section does not apply to the
following trusts:
1) an irrevocable trust
containing the resources of a person who is determined disabled (as provided in
Section
120.314) and under age
65 that is established by a parent, grandparent, legal guardian or court for
the sole benefit (as defined in Section
120.388(m)(2)
) of the person, if language contained in the trust stipulates that any amount
remaining in the trust (up to the amount expended by the Department on medical
assistance) shall be paid to the Department upon the death of the person. This
exclusion continues after the person reaches age 65 as long as the person
continues to be disabled but any additions made by the person to the trust
after age 65 will be treated as a transfer of assets under Sections
120.387
and 120.388. If the trust contains proceeds from a personal injury settlement,
any Department charge (as described at 89 Ill. Adm. Code
102.260)
must be satisfied in order for the trust to be excluded under this subsection;
or
2) Effective July 1, 2012, an
irrevocable trust containing the resources of a person who is determined
disabled (as provided in Section 120.314) that is established and managed by a
non-profit association that pools funds but maintains a separate account for
each beneficiary that is established by the disabled person, a parent,
grandparent, legal guardian or court for the sole benefit of the disabled
person, if language contained in the trust stipulates that any amount remaining
in the trust (up to the amount expended by the Department on medical
assistance) that is not retained by the trust for reasonable administrative
costs related to wrapping up the affairs of the subaccount shall be paid to the
Department upon the death of the person. After a person reaches age 65, any
funding by or on behalf of the person to the trust shall be treated as a
transfer of assets for less than fair market value unless the person is a ward
of a county public guardian or the State guardian pursuant to Section 13-5 of
the Probate Act of 1975 [755 ILCS 5 ] or Section 30 of the Guardianship and
Advocacy Act [20 ILCS 3955 ] and lives in the community or the person is a ward
of a county public guardian or the State guardian pursuant to Section 13-5 of
the Probate Act of 1975 or Section 30 of the Guardianship and Advocacy Act and
a court has found that any expenditures from the trust will maintain or enhance
the person's quality of life. If the trust contains proceeds from a personal
injury settlement, any Department charge (as described at 89 Ill. Adm. Code
102.260) must be satisfied in order for the trust to be excluded under this
subsection (d).
e)
Subsections (f) and (g) of this Section apply to the portion of the trust
attributable to the person and without regard to:
1) the purpose for establishment of the
trust;
2) whether the trustee has
or exercises any discretion under the trust; or
3) whether there are any restrictions on
distributions or use of distributions from the trust.
f) For revocable trusts, the Department
shall:
1) treat the principal as an available
resource;
2) treat as income
payments from the trust that are made to or for the benefit of the person;
and
3) treat any other payments
from the trust as transfers of assets by the person (subject to the provisions
of, and depending on the date of the payment, Section
120.387
or 120.388).
g) For
irrevocable trusts, the Department shall:
1)
treat as an available resource the amount of the trust from which payment to or
for the benefit of the person could be made;
2) treat as income payments from the trust
that are made to or for the benefit of the person;
3) treat any other payments from the trust as
transfers of assets by the person (subject to the provisions of Section
120.387
or 120.388, as applicable); and
4)
treat as a transfer of assets by the person the amount of the trust from which
no payment could be made to the person under any circumstances (subject to the
provisions of Section
120.387
or 120.388, as applicable). The date of the transfer is the date the trust was
established or, if later, the date that payment to the person was foreclosed.
The amount of the trust is determined by including any payments made from the
trust after the date that payment to the person was foreclosed.
h) Trust Income. For married
couples, income from trusts shall be attributed to each spouse as provided in
the trust, unless:
1) payment of income is
made solely to one spouse, in which case the income shall be attributed to that
spouse;
2) payment of income is
made to both spouses, in which case one-half of the income shall be attributed
to each spouse; or
3) payment of
income is made to either spouse, or both, and to another person or persons, in
which case the income shall be attributed to each spouse in proportion to the
spouse's interest, or, if payment is made to both spouses and no such interest
is specified, one-half of the joint interest shall be attributed to each
spouse.
i) Annuities are
treated similar to trusts.
1) Revocable and
assignable annuities are considered available resources.
2) Any portion of an annuity from which
payment to or for the benefit of the person or the person's spouse could be
made is an available resource. An annuity that may be surrendered to its
issuing entity for a refund or payment of a specified amount or provides a
lump-sum settlement option is an available resource valued at the amount of any
such refund, surrender or settlement.
3) Income received from an annuity by an
institutionalized person is considered non-exempt income. Income received by
the community spouse of an institutionalized person is treated as available to
the community spouse for the purpose of determining the community spouse income
allowance under Section
120.379(e).
4) An annuity that fails to name the State of
Illinois as a remainder beneficiary as required under Section
120.385(b)
shall result in denial or termination of eligibility for long term care
services.
j) The
principal of a trust fund established under the Self Sufficiency Trust Fund
Program (see
20 ILCS
1705/21.1) is an exempt resource.