If the grantor is sole beneficiary (i.e., there is no living named co-beneficiary or residual beneficiary) of the trust, the trust is revocable and therefore a resource, regardless of the wording, i.e., some trusts state that the trust is irrevocable.

The Regional Office of General Counsel has determined that a named residual beneficiary can include: a named living individual; the term "issue" (if living and the issue of the grantor); and/or the State of New York (for Medicaid reimbursement payments made on behalf of the beneficiary; the wording will vary). The inclusion of those terms means that the grantor is not the sole beneficiary.

If the grantor is the sole named beneficiary and the trust also indicates an unnamed beneficiary, e.g., "heir," "heirs at law," "next of kin," "distributee," "estate," "issue" (if there is no living issue of the grantor), it is revocable, and therefore considered a resource. You may refer this trust to the Center for Programs Support for review.

For trusts created prior to August 29, 2000, if the grantor is sole beneficiary (i.e., there is no living, named co-beneficiary or residual beneficiary) of the trust, the trust is revocable and therefore a resource, regardless of the language of the agreement, i.e., some trusts state that the trust is irrevocable. These cases should be referred to the Center for Programs Support.

For trusts created on or after August 29, 2000 the trust is considered irrevocable if it is a Medicaid trust regardless of whether the trust says it is irrevocable.