She has Alzheimer's and have been told that she can get some in-home care with the assistance of medicaid. We were able to get a QIT done, but was told that we needed something else in place to keep the Gov. from taking it if she should die. She wants her three adult Children to at least get that.
A QIT is created for a Medicaid recipient who's income exceed the state income cap for Medicaid eligibility (currently $2,199 in Florida for 2015 and changes annually).
Each month the trustee of the QIT places an amount equal to the amount of the Medicaid recipient's income that exceeds the income cap into a bank account titled in the name of the trust. Funds placed in the trust account may only be used for the cost of care for the Medicaid recipient. Ideally, the account is spent down each month to $0 for this purpose.
If there are any funds remaining in the trust account at the demise of the Medicaid recipient, the funds must go to the state to reimburse the state for Medicaid benefits received. Typically (if the account is handled properly), this a should not be more than one month's income.
Money should not accumulate in the account.
There is no other legal alternative for funds placed in a QIT account; they either go to cost of care or back to the state.
As for inheritance, it is a new world with the elderly living longer. Time was, an elder would be reasonably healthy til the moment they had a stroke or heart attack. Then they would be dead. Longterm medical care would not be so much of an issue. Times change and the elderly living longer are much more likely to suffer from debilitating chronic conditions, such as Alzheimers.