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Miller Trust Guide
DE · Guide

Who Can Be the Trustee of a Miller Trust in Delaware?

In Delaware, 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 DHSS/DMMA allows. DSSM Sec 20400.11 (read in full, all nine subsections) contains no language specifying who may or may not serve as trustee of a Miller Trust, and no explicit prohibition on the beneficiary serving as their own trustee -- a confirmed silence in the rule text, not an oversight in this guide's research. Delaware Court of Chancery Form CM50 (used only in the guardianship pathway) shows a guardian petitioning the court for permission to serve as trustee in that specific context, but this does not establish a general statewide rule for applicants who have capacity or a valid power of attorney. Confirm trustee eligibility directly with DMMA or 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 a Delaware-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 DHSS/DMMA 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 DHSS/DMMA permits: typically the applicant's personal-needs allowance of $75/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 Delaware setup is the same — see the step-by-step setup and what to say at the bank.

Before you go to the Delaware 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 a Delaware 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 DHSS/DMMA allows. DSSM Sec 20400.11 (read in full, all nine subsections) contains no language specifying who may or may not serve as trustee of a Miller Trust, and no explicit prohibition on the beneficiary serving as their own trustee -- a confirmed silence in the rule text, not an oversight in this guide's research. For advice on your specific situation, consult a Delaware-licensed elder-law attorney.