A&A and Irrevocable Trusts

[childsuccess]

It was terrific finding this site and have gotten some useful info already from it. I am quite thankful it is here.
My dad is a WWII vet, living in a special assisted living facility for people with Alzheimers. He gets 1389/mo from SS and 330/month from my deceased mom's penion. He pays $4100/month to the facility for his care. I was told he would be eligible for A&A benefit. He does have over $80,000 in assets but  was also told if he puts it into an annuity and the annuity is owned by an Irrevocable Trust it will not be applied to the asset threshold. In reading some of the posts on this topic, there was reference made to the fact if he gets any distribution from the trust that will count towards his asset level. Even with A&A, he will need to takea couple of thousand dollars/year  from the trust to pay for his expenses. This has left me confused as to how his asset/income threshold is determined for eligibility for A&A?  Also, does his asset have to be in an annuity to qualify?  Please help. Thanks
Larry

[Patty]

Hi Larry,
Be very wary of the annuity sellers.  As you correctly point out, your father needs access to his money.  The annuity sellers are focused on their commission and not your father's welfare.

Patty

[childsuccess]

Thanks Patty, I do believe I will avoid the annuity.
Does anyone know how the Irrevocable Trust needs to be worded or where I can find that out?
Larry

[childsuccess]

Thanks, that would be great Ebtaxbiz. I look forward to hearing more from you.
Larry

[childsuccess]

Leo
I and my father live in South Carolina in the Charleston area. I had planned to discuss this with an Elder Law attorney who has helped us before though I am not sure how experienced he is with VA matters. I am not about to get the annuity but want to "shelter" some of his assets so that he might be able to receive A&A benefit. It did seem that a properly worded Irrevocable Trust could do that. He has Alzheimers and unable to make decisions for himself. I have a POA and a letter from his doctor attesting to his incompetency. The VA has it's own process of appointing a fiduciary agent and I am not sure about that process either. There is another Veterans support group here in SC who I will be in touch with.
Thanks for your input and will appreciate any other thoughts you have on the subject. If I get any good info on this I will be posting it.
Larry

[childsuccess]

Leo
I am definitely not interested in an annuity. After the holidays, I will call 2 elder law/estate planning attorneys and see what they say about setting up the trust. How to get it worded so that it does not appear that he is getting income from it will be the trick. He will still have minus 80k in assets to help pay for his care. If he gets the VA A&A that will really help defray his monthly costs.
I appreciate this help and any future advice.
larry