What Can an Income Trust Pay For in Wyoming?
Wyoming's rule allows the trust a monthly distribution toward the cost of nursing facility services after allowable deductions, plus reasonable administration costs and a community spouse allowance. WDH's eligibility manual lists the specific distributions, with caps: trustee fees up to $20 a month, guardianship fees, income taxes, a one-time set-up amount, and allowances for a spouse and dependent children. Every item below is cited to WDH's own published rules; where WDH says nothing about an item, this page says so instead of filling the gap. This guide is informational only and is not legal or financial advice.
Income goes into a Wyoming Income Trust each month, and the trustee may pay it out only for the purposes WDH allows. Paying for anything else can put eligibility at risk. Here is the list, with the WDH source for each item.
What WDH's rules allow
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Personal needs allowance
$50 a month.
Source: WDH Eligibility Online Manual M906
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Cost of nursing facility services
A monthly distribution toward the cost of nursing facility services, less allowable deductions.
Source: Wyo. Medicaid Rules Ch. 18, § 8(c)(iii)
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HCBS waiver: the client's income standard
A monthly distribution to the client of the maximum income standard.
Source: WDH Eligibility Online Manual M906
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Spouse and dependent children
A monthly spousal maintenance allowance (the allowance minus the community spouse's income) and a monthly distribution for each dependent child.
Source: WDH Eligibility Online Manual M906
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Trustee fees
Up to $20 a month.
Source: WDH Eligibility Online Manual M906
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Income tax
A yearly distribution for income tax required by law and owed to the IRS.
Source: WDH Eligibility Online Manual M906
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Setting up the trust
A one-time distribution of no more than $100 for actual, verified expenses of establishing the trust.
Source: WDH Eligibility Online Manual M906
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Guardianship
$500 toward establishing a guardianship, and $75 a month for guardianship fees.
Source: WDH Eligibility Online Manual M906
Trustee and bank fees
WDH's manual allows a monthly distribution for trustee fees of up to $20; the rule itself allows reasonable costs of administering the trust (Wyo. Medicaid Rules Ch. 18, § 8(c)(iii)).
What the trust can't be used for
The trust may contain only the individual's pension, Social Security and other income plus accumulated income, and no part of the principal may be available to the individual (Ch. 18). For some older trusts, WDH's manual also allows administrative fees of the trust up to $20 a month, income tax owed on the trust's income, and attorney fees the trust is obligated to pay (EOM M906).
Timing, and money left over
Distributions are monthly, and the trust may hold accumulated income (Wyo. Medicaid Rules Ch. 18).
Keeping the monthly record
The trustee is the one who has to show that the trust paid only these items. A month-by-month record of every deposit and every payment, checked against the bank statement, is what makes that easy to show when WDH asks.
Related: who can be the trustee in Wyoming, what happens to the money at death, and the Miller Trust trustee guide for how the monthly cycle works in every state.
Trust not open yet? The account comes first
None of these payments can start until the trust account exists, 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.