A Miller Trust is another name for a Qualified Income Trust (QIT). A QIT is a very specific type of income trust that is used for Medicaid eligibility. In Georgia a QIT does not hold any money or assets. The QIT simply owns a bank account through which income is passed each month for Medicaid applicants who are over the Medicaid income limit.
The income limit for a Long Term Care Medicaid applicant in Georgia for 2021 is $2,382 per month. Assuming asset limits are met, if an applicant’s gross income is less than $2,382, they are eligible for Medicaid and do not need a QIT. Gross income is an applicant’s total income before any deductions are taken out. If an applicant’s gross income is over $2,382 per month, they will have to create a QIT and transfer their income through the QIT bank account each month to be eligible for Medicaid.
The QIT itself is a trust document that describes the rules of the trust and names a trustee. The Georgia Department of Community Health has a preferred format for the trust document. Once the trust document is signed by the Medicaid applicant, their agent under a power of attorney, or their conservator, then the trustee can take the document to a bank and open a checking account.
Each month the Medicaid applicant will transfer their income from their personal checking account to the QIT checking account. Then the trustee will pay the approved medical expenses out of the trust. The QIT checking account will not retain any money.
The QIT does not help a Medicaid applicant save any assets or income. It only serves to make people who are over the Medicaid income limit qualify for Medicaid. Even with a QIT, a Long Term Care Medicaid applicant will have to pay most of their income to their care provider.
