Miller Trust Law and Legal Definition
A Miller Trust makes Social Security and other income exempt from calculations of income and resources if the state is reimbursed from the trust for Medicaid expenses upon the recipient's death. In this situation, the applicant assigns all of their non-exempt income to an irrevocable trust. The trust pays out the maximum allowable amount of income to the applicant, withot losing their eligibility. This income is paid directly to the Medicaid recipient's nursing home and the excess income stays in the trust. Medicaid picks up the tab for the portion of the nursing home bill that exceeds the maximum acceptable income and any income left in the trust is used to pay back the state upon the death of the recipient. Such an income diversion trust is also now called a Qualifying Income Trust (QIT).
