Funeral Agreements Funeral Agreement A contract in which money is - PDF document

Funeral Agreements Funeral Agreement • A contract in which money is paid to a funeral director in return for furnishing specified services and/or merchandise upon the death of the person to whom the contract pertains Funeral Agreement cont'd. • Two types: – Irrevocable – Revocable • Includes: – Burial spaces – Non-burial space monies

Irrevocable Funeral Agreements Irrevocable • Effective 1/1/97 only available to Medicaid or SSI A/Rs • Effective 1/1/2011 available to Medicaid or SSI A/Rs and their immediate family members when purchased by an A/R or his/her spouse Irrevocable cont'd. • Immediate family members include SSI- related A/Rs: – spouse – minor and adult children, – stepchildren and adoptive children, – brothers and sisters, – parents and adoptive parents, and – the spouses of these persons.

MA Treatment of Irrevocable • Cannot be “refunded” • Exempt regardless of value • Balance after burial returned to LDSS MA Treatment of Irrevocable, cont’d. • Funds used to purchase an Irrevocable agreement for an A/R’s family member other than a spouse are countable resources for the A/R until the month following the month in which the funds are actually paid to a funeral director MA Treatment of Irrevocable, cont’d. • Retroactive Eligibility – Can be obtained by spending down excess resources on a funeral agreement for the A/R or the A/R’s spouse – Cannot be obtained by spending down excess resources on a funeral agreement for a family member

Revocable Funeral Agreements MA Treatment of Revocable • Can be “refunded” • Only type of funeral agreement available before 1/1/97 A/R’s Revocable Established Prior to Medicaid Application • Can convert to Irrevocable OR • Only non-burial space monies up to $1,500 exempt – Burial spaces not exempt NOTE : If A/R’s revocable established before 1/1/97 and if A/R began receiving Medicaid before 1/1/97 with no break in coverage: see MRG Resources pgs 366 and 366.1

Burial Funds Burial Funds • Any liquid resource that an individual chooses to officially acknowledge as a fund for the purpose of burial Burial Funds cont'd. • Can not commingle funds • Has to officially acknowledge funds as “Burial Fund” – Access NY Supplement A (DOH-4495A/DOH-5178A) or – Burial Reserve Acknowledgement (DSS-3827) or – Written statement

Burial Funds cont'd. • Maximum of $1,500 disregard for burial fund ($3,000 for a couple)