Pikula v. Department of Social Services
Connecticut Supreme Court
138 A.3d 212, 321 Conn. 259 (2016)
- Written by Rose VanHofwegen, JD
Facts
John Pikula’s will created a trust for his daughter Marian Pikula (plaintiff) and her sister. The main trust asset was John’s home, where Marian lived until impairment required her to move into a long-term care facility. After the home sold, the trust assets totaled just under $170,000. The trustee could spend as much income as the trustee “may deem advisable” for Marian’s support or incorporate unspent income back into the principal. The trustee held sole, absolute, conclusive discretion as to whether to pay out principal, with a release from liability for principal distributions. Connecticut’s Department of Social Services (defendant) denied Marian’s Medicaid application on the ground that her available assets included the trust and exceeded applicable Medicaid asset limits. Marian appealed, arguing the trust was not actually available to her because the trustee had unquestionable discretion and could not be compelled to distribute the trust funds to her. The trial court found the trust an available asset and dismissed her appeal. Marian appealed to the Connecticut Supreme Court.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Eveleigh, J.)
What to do next…
Here's why 804,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:
- Written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students. 46,300 briefs, keyed to 988 casebooks. Top-notch customer support.
- The right amount of information, includes the facts, issues, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents.
- Access in your classes, works on your mobile and tablet. Massive library of related video lessons and high quality multiple-choice questions.
- Easy to use, uniform format for every case brief. Written in plain English, not in legalese. Our briefs summarize and simplify; they don’t just repeat the court’s language.
