Preparing for Title 19

Advance planning...arranging your affairs before you need Medicaid or Title 19 assistance is of utmost importance. You can not set aside a significant amount of money for a funeral after you are receiving aid.

Assets You May Own When On Title 19

• up to $1,600 in liquid assets: cash, bank account, stocks, etc.
  
• up to $1,500 face value of life insurance
  
• up to $10,000 in an Irrevocable Funeral Trust (with a funeral home). Interest earned on a Funeral Trust may accumulate in your account.
  
• up to $75 a month allowance from your retirement income or Social Security may be kept for personal needs when confined to a rest home.
  
• no limit of additional funds in a Revocable Burial Space Contract (with a funeral home)
  

The State of Connecticut has, through Public Acts 97-2 and 04-233, created specific opportunities for individuals to establish funds for their funeral and/or final disposition. Money may be safely protected in either an Irrevocable Funeral Trust Account or in a Revocable Burial Plot Contract; or in a combination of both.

Both vehicles provide protection for your money. Neither may be considered an asset that can affect a person's eligibility for financial assistance from the State of Connecticut, Medicaid and/or Title 19 programs.

Using a combination of these two financial vehicles you can prepay the entire amount of a funeral service that reflects your personal choice and traditions. The experienced staff of Gleeson-Ryan Funeral Home can help you establish a funeral trust account that protects your money and will meet your future needs while complying with all the regulations for receiving aid from the State of Connecticut.

While you still have some money left you should also decide which cemetery you want to be buried in. You should go there, select your plot, and pay for it. Some cemeteries will also permit you to prepay the cost of opening and closing the grave.

A receipt for such payment should be given to Gleeson-Ryan Funeral Home so a copy is retained with all of your other records and instructions for final disposition. Next, it would be wise to purchase your monument or grave marker; and, have the stone inscribed with your family name.

A person who dies with no assets at all is entitled to only $1,200 from the State of Connecticut for his/her final disposition. A person is not entitled to this money if they have any other means to pay for a funeral, such as a funeral trust.

Also, any money left in your personal accounts (limit $1,600) will revert to the State of Connecticut at the time of death.

You should initiate these actions as soon as it becomes apparent that due to expensive medical treatments, extended hospital stays or confinement to a convalescent home, you will deplete your financial resources.

Please contact Gleeson-Ryan Funeral Home for additional information.