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Miller Trust Guide
AK · Guide

Who Can Be the Trustee of a Qualifying Income Trust in Alaska?

In Alaska, the trustee of a Miller Trust (Qualified Income Trust) is whoever manages the trust account — depositing the applicant's income each month and paying out only what DPA allows. Alaska's regulations (7 AAC 100 Article 11, read in full) prohibit the applicant/recipient from being trustee or from having any ability, access, or authority to manage or control the trust account (7 AAC 100.604(b)(5)) -- but do not otherwise specify who may serve, beyond requiring the trust to identify the trustee and a successor-trustee procedure. DPA's own MED-23 brochure instructs applicants to "find a willing person or agency that you trust to be your trustee," consistent with a third-party trustee norm, though this is guidance, not a codified eligibility list of who qualifies. Confirm your specific trustee choice with your drafting attorney. The trustee does not have to be a lawyer or a professional; for the core setup this is a role most families fill themselves. For a complex situation, consult an Alaska-licensed elder-law attorney. This guide is informational only and is not legal advice.

The trustee does not have to be an attorney or a professional fiduciary. Managing a Qualified Income Trust is an operational job, not a legal one: open the account, move the applicant's income through it each month, and pay out only what DPA allows — the same short list of tasks every month.

What the trustee does each month

  • Deposits the applicant's income — Social Security, pension, and any other named sources — into the dedicated trust account.
  • Pays out only the amounts DPA permits: typically the applicant's personal-needs allowance of $200/month, any spousal allowance, and the applicant's share of medical and care costs.
  • Keeps simple records of what went in and what came out, so the trust stays compliant and Medicaid has no reason to question it.

Name a backup trustee

Many families name a successor trustee when they set the trust up, so that if the first trustee cannot continue, the trust keeps running without interruption. Either way the Alaska setup is the same — see the step-by-step setup and what to say at the bank.

Before you go to the Alaska bank

Most wasted trips are a bank-procedure problem, not a trust problem. This free one-pager has the questions to ask on the phone before you drive to a branch — emailed now. We'll also send 4 short follow-ups over the next 3 weeks (why most denials are paperwork not eligibility, the trustee role, when to call an attorney) — then we stop. No ongoing newsletter.

Email only — we never ask for income, age, or family details, and never sell your address.

Common questions

Does the trustee of an Alaska Miller Trust have to be a lawyer?
No. Managing a Qualified Income Trust is an administrative task — opening the dedicated account, depositing the applicant's income each month, and paying out only the amounts DPA allows. Alaska's regulations (7 AAC 100 Article 11, read in full) prohibit the applicant/recipient from being trustee or from having any ability, access, or authority to manage or control the trust account (7 AAC 100.604(b)(5)) -- but do not otherwise specify who may serve, beyond requiring the trust to identify the trustee and a successor-trustee procedure. For advice on your specific situation, consult an Alaska-licensed elder-law attorney.