Who Can Be the Trustee of a Miller Trust in Florida?
In Florida, 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 DCF allows. Florida's ESS Policy Manual and Fla. Admin. Code Ch. 65A-1 address who may EXECUTE (establish) a Qualified Income Trust -- the individual, their spouse, a person with legal authority to act on their behalf (power of attorney, guardian, or court), a person acting at their or their spouse's direction, or a licensed attorney (Appendix A-22.1, Step 4) -- but do not separately address who may serve as the trust's ongoing, day-to-day trustee. In practice, most families and attorneys name a third party (an adult child with power of attorney, or a spouse) rather than the individual themselves, both because general trust law disfavors a sole beneficiary also serving as sole trustee and because DCF's review process treats attorney-executed trusts as a streamlined path. Confirm the trustee question directly with your drafting attorney -- this guide does not treat self-trusteeship as either confirmed permitted or barred by Florida's rule text. 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 Florida-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 DCF 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 DCF permits: typically the applicant's personal-needs allowance of $160/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 Florida setup is the same — see the step-by-step setup and what to say at the bank.
The Florida denial traps that cost families a month of coverage
Most denials are paperwork, not eligibility. This free one-pager lists every DCF denial trap with the citation behind it — emailed now. We'll also send 4 short follow-ups over the next 3 weeks (the bank step, the trustee role, when to call an attorney) — then we stop. No ongoing newsletter.
Common questions
- Does the trustee of a Florida 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 DCF allows. Florida's ESS Policy Manual and Fla. For advice on your specific situation, consult a Florida-licensed elder-law attorney.