Who Can Be the Trustee of a Qualified Income Trust in Nevada?
In Nevada, 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 DSS allows. Nevada's MAM F-500 defines "trustee" generically -- "any individual(s) or entity... that manages a trust... and has fiduciary responsibilities" -- and never states who may or may not serve, nor whether the individual may serve as their own trustee. No Nevada QIT-specific FAQ or guidance addressing self-trusteeship was found. This is a confirmed policy silence, not an oversight in this kit's research -- consistent with general trust law's caution against a sole beneficiary also serving as sole trustee (the "merger" doctrine, which can collapse a trust back into an ordinary countable asset). Confirm the trustee question directly with your drafting attorney; this kit does not treat self-trusteeship as either permitted or barred by Nevada's own 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 Nevada-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 DSS 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 DSS permits: typically the applicant's personal-needs allowance of $154/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 Nevada setup is the same — see the step-by-step setup and what to say at the bank.
Whoever you name will need this
The trustee is the one who opens the account — and most banks have never seen this type of trust before. Free one-pager: the questions to ask before that first visit, emailed now. Then 4 more short emails over 3 weeks — then we stop.