MassHealth Challenge Successful: Court-ordered Alimony Directed into SNT Not Countable as Income

Neal A. Winston, a Boston-area special needs planning attorney, recently successfully challenged MassHealth in a Fair Hearing, regarding support paid directly into a special needs trust. Winston summarizes the case:

"A severely disabled woman in her late 30s, required a Personal Care Attendant through MassHealth to remain in her home. I created a special needs trust for her, and the Court ordered the alimony to be paid directly into it. To our surprise, MassHealth then rejected the procedure. The agency first claimed that the trust had to be a Medicaid “payback” trust, which is not required by the law or regulations."

After arguing on behalf of the client at a Fair Hearing, MassHealth changed its position and claimed...

"The Court does not have authority to order the alimony to be paid into a trust in order to be exempt as income for MassHealth eligibility. The Hearing Officer rejected all of the agency’s arguments, determined that Court-ordered alimony into a properly drafted SNT would not be countable as income, and reversed the benefit termination decision."

Read Attorney Winston's blog post on the topic at: MassHealth Challenge.