Wife is in a Nursing Home. Her nursing home expense is $5,000 per month. Her Social Security of $1,000 per month goes toward this cost of care. The balance of $4,000 per month is paid by Medicaid. Her husband leaves her an inheritance of $90,000 in his Last Will and Testament.

The direct inheritance of this amount will effectively stop public benefits until this amount is gone. This means that the $90,000 must pay for the $4,000 per month medical expenses that public benefits were once paying for. In approximately 22 months, this inheritance will be gone. Instead, the Husband should have established a Testamentary Spousal Special Needs Trust for his wife in the Nursing Home.