What are Florida Qualified Income Trusts (or Miller Trusts)?

How do Qualified Income Trusts Work?

Prepare your QIT Now, Online!

If you have gross income of more than $2,829 a month, and you want Medicaid benefits to pay for long term care, you will need a qualified income trust.

What are qualified income trusts (QIT), sometimes called Miller Trusts? How qualified income trusts work in Florida? Prepare your qualified income trust for nursing home care online here. An irrevocable qualified income trust, sometimes referred to as a "Miller Trust" or "QIT," is a trust that is provided for by Florida Medicaid law for Medicaid eligibility, so that one can qualify for Medicaid benefits to pay for long term care in a skilled nursing home and for any of the community-based Medicaid programs, even when the Medicaid beneficiary has more income than is otherwise allowed for Medicaid eligibility for nursing home benefits. (Information about the current cost for long term care (more than $8,000 per month or $96,000 annually) is provided by this 2023 survey by Genworth Financial).

According to the Genworth Financial study, "there are 10,000 baby boomers a day turning 65 and this is expected to continue until 2030. At least 70% of people over 65 will need long term care services and support. By 2030, more than 12 million people are expected to require long term care at some point."

A QIT or Miller Trusts will allow you, or your family member, to qualify for Medicaid benefits to pay for nursing home costs or to participate in one of the community-based waiver programs offered by Medicaid, even if the skilled care nursing home resident has income that exceeds the Medicaid "Income Cap" established for Medicaid eligibility. Currently, for 2024, the Medicaid income cap in Florida is $2,829 per month.

Where Can You Obtain Florida Qualified Income Trusts or Miller Trusts?

You can begin the process of obtaining your Florida Miller Trusts (QIT) online by going to our Qualified Income Trusts document (click here) preparation site and answering a few questions. Submit the QIT questionnaire after completing it, pay the small fee, and we'll have the completed trust to you within 48 hours (excluding weekends and holidays). It only takes a few minutes and the fixed fee for your irrevocable qualified income trust is only $395. We promise to provide you with your Miller Trust within 48 hours of your submission of the information. We provide you with simple instructions for properly signing the irrevocable Medicaid qualified income trusts document and instructions for handling the bank account for the irrevocable qualified income trusts. The QIT form that is prepared through this site is acceptable for the Institutional Care Program (ICP) or any of the community-based waiver programs for care in an assisted living facility.

If you have needs that go beyond the income trust, or you also can obtain qualified income trusts, or Miller trusts, from an experienced elder law attorney.  If you would like to schedule a consultation to explore whether qualified income trusts, or Miller Trusts, can assist you or your family member with obtaining Medicaid benefits to pay for long term nursing home care or assisted living costs, please call us at (904) 448-1969.

If you or your family member, who is currently, or is about to start, living in a skilled nursing facility, or who seeks to become qualified for Medicaid benefits in any of the community based waiver programs, and has income in excess of that Medicaid allowable amount ($2,829 per month for 2024), an irrevocable qualified income trust must be established so he or she can qualify for Medicaid benefits to help pay for the cost of long term care in a skilled nursing facility or in any community based waiver Medicaid program.

Prepare My Florida Qualified Income Trust Right Here, Right Now - Click Here

For the purpose of determining whether you qualify for Medicaid benefits, the State of Florida includes indemnity payments you receive from long term care insurance as "income." Accordingly, if your income plus long-term care insurance benefits exceed the income cap, then you will need the irrevocable qualified income trusts, or Miller trust for Medicaid benefits.

Florida is an Income Cap state, which means there is an upper income limit for Medicaid eligibility. A person's total gross income includes the amount received from Social Security, pensions, IRAs and all other forms of income. "Income" for Medicaid eligibility purposes is gross income. This means that all deductions are added back to the income before one can determine the total amount of income for Medicaid eligibility purposes and is another example of why proper Medicaid planning is so important for each individual who needs assistance for the cost of long-term care, and why qualified income trusts may be necessary for Medicaid benefits.

The upper income limit typically goes up by a few dollars each year. In many cases where an elderly person's income exceeds the upper limit, irrevocable "Qualified Income Trusts" (also known as "Miller Trusts" or a "QIT" or a "Medicaid income only trust") can be used to legally solve the problem of too much income and allow the individual to qualify for Medicaid benefits.  The maximum income limit for 2024 is $2,829 per month.

Following the detailed requirements for drafting a QIT and for administering an irrevocable qualified income trust account is important for maintaining Medicaid eligibility for the elderly person after it is first obtained. Your Medicaid planning elder law attorney should provide you with detailed and specific direction for the proper funding and administration of the irrevocable qualified income trusts funds. In addition to the qualified income trusts prepares at this site, we provide a Memorandum Regarding Funding Your Qualified Income Trusts, and a letter directed to your bank explaining how to set up and operate the bank account for Qualified Income Trusts, along with instructions for the proper signing of qualified income trusts.

Do You Need A Florida Durable Power of Attorney for Finances?

If the individual seeking Medicaid benefits is incapacitated and unable to legally sign the irrevocable qualified income trusts documents, it is generally necessary for there to be a proper durable power of attorney in place so the Miller Trusts can be established by the incapacitated person's legally appointed agent.

The form for the Florida durable power of attorney should include specific authorization for the agent or attorney in fact to sign irrevocable qualified income trusts for the incapacitated person's skilled nursing home Medicaid eligibility.  The Medicaid regulations require that the durable power of attorney must have a provision allowing the agent to establish trusts for the individual seeking Medicaid benefits, otherwise qualified income trusts cannot be legally completed by the agent.  A properly drafted and signed durable power of attorney is a necessary requirement for someone who is incapacitated to obtain Medicaid benefits under the Institutional Care Program.

Click Here if you need to prepare a Florida durable power of attorney for finances that meets the requirements of the Department of Children and Families for authority to establish a qualified income trust. You can prepare one online - just click here.

Do You Need a Florida Designation of Health Care Surrogate (Health Care Power of Attorney) or Advance Directive?

The designation of health care surrogate, sometimes called a power of attorney for health care, may be the most important document that you can have. Any competent adult may also designate a Health Care Surrogate to make all health care decisions during any period of incapacity. During the person’s incapacity, the Health Care Surrogate has the duty to consult expeditiously, with appropriate health care providers. The Health Care Surrogate also provides informed consent and makes all health care decisions for the incapacitated person, that he or she believes the maker would have made under the circumstances if the maker were capable of making and communicating such decisions. If there is no indication of what the maker would have chosen, the Health Care Surrogate may consider the maker’s best interests in deciding on a course of treatment. If you need only a health care power of attorney or designation of health care surrogate, you can prepare our suggested legal form for a health care power of attorney, or Designation of Health Care Surrogate, online right now, pursuant to Florida Statutes Section 765.203.

An experienced elder law lawyer can assist you in obtaining the proper form for power of attorney both for finances and to appoint a health care surrogate. Without a proper form for the FL durable power of attorney, the incapacitated individual may not qualify for Medicaid benefits even with the qualified income trust.  The designation of health care surrogate will also allow the person designated to make the sometimes crucial medical treatment decisions that allow the Medicaid beneficiary to remain healthy.

If you need irrevocable Qualified Income Trusts, or Miller Trusts forms, to qualify for Medicaid benefits, and that is the only remaining requirement for you or your loved one to become eligible for Medicaid benefits, you can obtain qualified income trusts documents that are guaranteed to meet the legal requirements of the Florida Department of Children and Families for such Miller trusts, quickly and at a reasonable cost, by clicking here.  

You can quickly prepare online the Durable Power of Attorney by clicking here. You can quickly prepare online the advance directive Designation of Health Care Surrogate by clicking here.

The irrevocable qualified income trusts template, or Miller Trusts form, the durable power of attorney, and the designation of health care surrogate that you can obtain through this website are all reviewed by C. Randolph Coleman, an experienced elder law lawyer with more than 30 years' experience as a Florida attorney, and more than 25 years' experience working with the Florida Department of Children and Families (and its predecessor the Department of HRS) in the preparation of irrevocable qualified income trusts for Medicaid eligibility, durable powers of attorney and designations of health care surrogate.

You can prepare your Florida qualified income trusts template, your durable power of attorney, and your designation of health care surrogate online, by answering a few short questions that will provide the information necessary for our office to prepare your qualified income trust or Miller Trusts form, your durable power of attorney, or your health care power of attorney for Florida.

Prepare My Florida Qualified Income Trust Right Here, Right Now - Click Here

Your answers to the questions will be reviewed by our experienced Florida elder law attorney, who will complete the Miller trusts, power of attorney or health care designation, and return it to you by email within 48 hours (excluding holidays and weekends). Our Florida irrevocable qualified income trusts and our durable power of attorney are guaranteed to meet the requirements of the Florida Department of Children and Families ("DCAF") for those documents, or we will refund your money in full if your trust form or durable power of attorney is not accepted by DCAF because it is not legally proper.

If you need a consultation with our experienced Florida elder law attorney, for a QIT, Medicaid spend down planning, wills or trusts, or any other elder law needs, please call us at 904-448-1969, or toll free at 866-510-9099, or Contact Us.