Do You Need a Lawyer to Set Up a Qualified Income Trust in Georgia?
No. Georgia's DFCS policy manual states that "It is not a requirement for an attorney to set up or certify a QIT," and DFCS publishes its own fill-in template (Form 948). DCH publishes its own fill-in form, so the core setup is completing it, naming a trustee, and opening the trust's bank account. Families with significant assets, gifts made in the last five years, a second marriage, or property in more than one state commonly bring in a Georgia-licensed elder-law attorney anyway. This guide is informational only and is not legal advice.
What usually happens
You find the free DCH form, and it looks simple. Then an elder-law attorney quotes $1,000–$2,500 to handle it. So you fill it in yourself, get it signed, and take it to the bank, where the branch has never opened one of these and says no.
Meanwhile the month is running out. In Georgia, coverage can't start before the month the trust is funded, so a month that slips is another month of private-pay nursing care at $8,821–$9,429.
This applies when the person who needs care has gross monthly income over Georgia's income cap of $2,982, whether you're their child, their spouse, or a professional helping them.
Free: the questions to ask a Georgia bank before your first visit
7 questions for a five-minute phone call, so you find out whether a branch knows how to open this account before you make the drive. Emailed now, then 4 short follow-ups over the next 10 days — then we stop.
What DCH's own materials say
Georgia's DFCS Medicaid Policy Manual (Section 2407) states that "It is not a requirement for an attorney to set up or certify a QIT." DFCS's QIT Desk Guide tells caseworkers to assure applicants that it is not necessary to hire a lawyer to set up the QIT and to send a fill-in-the-blank template for completion. If an attorney does prepare the trust, Section 2407 asks that the certification include the attorney's State Bar Number. A QIT identical to Form 948, signed before two witnesses and certified on Form 936, moves to approval; one that departs from the template goes to DCH for legal review first. Only the applicant, a court-appointed guardian or conservator, or an attorney-in-fact with power-of-attorney authority may establish it.
What the DCH form involves
Georgia Department of Community Health publishes the trust as a fill-in form: DCH Qualified Income Trust form . Georgia publishes an approved Qualified Income Trust template — Form 948 (Revised 08/2024), the irrevocable Medically Needy/Qualified Income Trust agreement that names the Georgia Department of Community Health as residuary beneficiary. It is the DCH-approved template, published in the DFCS Medicaid Policy Manual (Section 2407) and handed to applicants by the county DFCS office. Georgia's own policy states it is not necessary to hire a lawyer: the caseworker provides a fill-in-the-blank template. A QIT that is identical to Form 948 is approved with the Form 936 certification; a QIT that deviates from the template must be reviewed and approved by the DCH Trust Unit (via Form 947) before the case is approved.
Completing it means entering the information it asks for and signing it the way its instructions say. After that come the parts that are banking rather than law: the trustee opens a dedicated account and moves the applicant's income into it each month. See the step-by-step setup for the full sequence.
When families bring in an attorney anyway
The trust itself is one document, but it sits inside a larger Medicaid application. These situations raise questions the trust doesn't answer, and they're where an elder-law attorney's fee usually earns its keep:
- Significant savings or property beyond the applicant's monthly income.
- Gifts or transfers in the last five years, which Medicaid's look-back reviews.
- A spouse still living at home, whose own income and allowances affect the numbers.
- Property or accounts in more than one state.
- An applicant who can't sign for themselves and has no one holding a power of attorney or guardianship. State agencies generally ask whoever signs for the applicant to show that legal authority.
Finding an elder-law attorney in Georgia
State Bar of Georgia — Find a Lawyer is the lawyer referral service for Georgia. Other resources for Georgia families: GeorgiaLegalAid.org — free legal information and a local legal-aid finder; Georgia Legal Services Program (glsp.org) — civil legal aid for the 154 counties outside metro Atlanta; Atlanta Legal Aid Society — metro Atlanta counties; Georgia Division of Aging Services — Aging & Disability Resource Connection (ADRC); National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys (NAELA). The National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys also lists its members by state. For what attorneys typically charge, see what it costs in Georgia.
With or without an attorney, the bank is the next hurdle
Whoever writes or completes the trust, the trustee still has to open the account, and most branches have never opened one. Free one-pager: the questions to ask before you drive to a branch, emailed now. Then 4 more short emails over the next 10 days — then we stop.