Connecticut General Statutes 45a-486 – Termination of inter vivos trust when settlor or spouse is an applicant for or recipient of medical assistance
(a) The provisions of this section shall apply to an inter vivos trust (1) established or funded on or after October 1, 1992; (2) established or funded within the same period of time prior to application for public assistance or Medicaid as is specified in Section 1917(c) of the Social Security Act or in a waiver approved by the Secretary of Health and Human Services concerning the disposal of assets for less than fair market value; and (3) in which the settlor or the settlor’s spouse is a beneficiary.
Terms Used In Connecticut General Statutes 45a-486
- Assets: (1) The property comprising the estate of a deceased person, or (2) the property in a trust account.
- Court: means a court of this state having jurisdiction over the matter pursuant to sections 45a-499o and 45a-499p or a court of another state having jurisdiction under the law of the other state. See Connecticut General Statutes 45a-499c
- Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
- Fair market value: The price at which an asset would change hands in a transaction between a willing, informed buyer and a willing, informed seller.
- Inter vivos: Transfer of property from one living person to another living person.
- Inter vivos trust: means a trust that is not a testamentary trust. See Connecticut General Statutes 45a-499c
- Person: means an individual, corporation, statutory or business trust, estate, trust, partnership, limited liability company, association, joint venture, court, government, governmental subdivision, agency or instrumentality, public corporation or any other legal or commercial entity. See Connecticut General Statutes 45a-499c
- Remainder: An interest in property that takes effect in the future at a specified time or after the occurrence of some event, such as the death of a life tenant.
- Settlor: means a person, including a testator, that creates or contributes property to a trust. See Connecticut General Statutes 45a-499c
(b) Upon the application of the Department of Social Services, the Superior Court shall terminate an inter vivos trust established by a person or the person’s spouse when the person or the person’s spouse becomes an applicant for or recipient of public assistance or Medicaid. The Superior Court shall order that the principal and any undistributed income shall be distributed to the settlor of the trust. This section shall not apply if the settlor, the settlor’s spouse, a conservator or other legal representative of the settlor or the settlor’s spouse, or any other person having a beneficial interest in the trust, establishes by clear and convincing evidence that not one of the principal purposes of the trust was the current or future qualification of the settlor or the settlor’s spouse for benefits under Title XIX of the Social Security Act (42 USC 1396 et seq.).
(c) On or after October 1, 1992, the provisions of this section shall not apply to charitable remainder trusts, as defined in Section 664(d) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, or any corresponding internal revenue code of the United States, as from time to time amended, nor to transfers which are deductible pursuant to Section 170(f)(2)(B), 2055(e)(2) or 2522(c)(2) of said code, nor to any trust in which the settlor or the settlor’s spouse has not retained any interest, other than reversionary interest of five per cent or less.