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First Party and Third Party Pooled Income Trusts, Explained

Posted by Andrew Byers | Apr 13, 2018 | 0 Comments

Generally, a "pooled trust" holds assets for people that have a disability, and/or elderly individuals. The trust is established and run by a not-for-profit organization, which will establish separate accounts for each individual within their system. However, the money of all of the individuals served is added together (in other words, it is pooled together) for investment and management purposes.

There are typically two types of pooled trusts. The first type is sometimes referred to as a "first party" trust. In this type of trust the disabled person places his or her own assets into the trust. Doing so will cause those assets to be non-countable for government benefit programs, such as Medicaid. The trustee of the trust (the not-for-profit organization) can use that person's money to pay for things that Medicaid will not cover. So, the assets are still there for the benefit of the person but their use is restricted. In this type of "first party" trust, any assets that remain when the person dies must be paid to the state up to the amount that the state has paid out for the person's care under the Medicaid program.

The second type of pooled trust is referred to as a "third party" trust. This means that the money did not come from the disabled person. For example, a parent with a disabled child could leave that child's inheritance to a pooled trust for the benefit of the child. The benefit is that the money would still be there for the child but would not disqualify the child from receiving SSI or Medicaid because the money would not be counted for these government programs. Unlike the first party trust, upon the death of the disabled person (in this example, the child) any remaining assets do not have to go to the state but can pass to any other beneficiaries that the parent wanted to have them.

Whether a pooled trust would be of any benefit to you depends upon many factors. Seek the advice of a qualified estate planning attorney to determine your best course of action.

About the Author

Andrew Byers

Andrew Byers' elder law practice focuses on the legal needs of older clients and their families, and works with a variety of legal tools and techniques to meet the goals and objectives of the older client. Under this holistic approach, I handle estate and longevity planning issues and counsel cli...

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I help seniors and their families to prevent the devastating financial effects of long term care. I assist and represent clients in and from the entire metro Detroit area, including all communities in Oakland, Macomb, and Wayne Counties. In-person meetings with Andrew Byers are available at his office Monday through Friday. Video conferences over Zoom or Microsoft Teams are also available.

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