Utah Medicaid Asset Protection Trust (MAPT): Complete Guide

What Is a MAPT? Plain-English

A Medicaid Asset Protection Trust is an irrevocable trust you create and fund—often with your residence and certain savings. After the required seasoning period (the five-year look-back), those assets are not counted for long-term-care Medicaid eligibility and are generally shielded from Utah Medicaid estate recovery. Properly drafted, a MAPT can also reserve your lifetime right to live in the home rent-free, while your children or other beneficiaries receive the remainder upon your death, outside of probate.

How a MAPT Works (Utah Version)

1. You create and fund the trust. You (the settlor) transfer title to your home and selected assets into the irrevocable trust.
2. You appoint an independent trustee. Someone other than you or your spouse manages the trust, follows its terms, and protects the beneficiaries.
3. You keep the right to live in the home. The trust document expressly reserves a lifetime right of occupancy so you may remain in the home rent-free.
4. Seasoning period (look-back). After five years from funding, trust assets are generally excluded from eligibility and shielded from recovery.
5. At death. The home passes to your chosen beneficiaries without probate and typically outside estate recovery.

Utah-Specific Drafting Essentials

• Irrevocability & no retained control. You should not retain powers to revoke, amend, or access principal. Reserve only occupancy rights; add strong spendthrift protections (see Utah trust/spendthrift organization under Title 75B).
• Keep the settlor off principal benefits. To avoid “grantor–beneficiary” recovery exposure, principal distributions should be for your descendants—not you.
• Independent trustee. Select a non-settlor, non-spouse trustee (individual or professional) with clear discretionary authority and guardrails.
• Utah governing law. The instrument should adopt Utah law and align with Utah’s treatment of trusts for Medicaid eligibility purposes.

Authority references: 42 U.S.C. § 1396p(c)–(d) (transfers & trusts), Utah Admin. Code R414-305-7 (treatment of trusts), and Utah trust/spendthrift scheme (Title 75B).

Medicaid Eligibility & the 5-Year Look-Back

Medicaid imposes a five-year look-back on transfers for less than fair market value. Funding a MAPT is a transfer. If you apply for long-term-care Medicaid within five years of funding, a penalty period may delay eligibility. That’s why planning early is critical—ideally, set up and fund your MAPT well before care is needed.

Authority: 42 U.S.C. § 1396p(c) (transfers & look-back).

Keeping the Right to Live in Your Home

When drafted correctly, a MAPT reserves your lifetime right of occupancy, so you may continue living in the residence rent-free. You can also authorize the trustee (or yourself) to pay taxes, insurance, and ordinary maintenance under the trust terms. This occupancy right is not a countable resource for eligibility and does not convert the MAPT into a recoverable “grantor–beneficiary” trust.

Utah’s estate recovery targets estates and trusts in which the recipient is both a grantor and a beneficiary—not a trust reserving occupancy only. See Utah Code § 26B-3-1013 and Utah Medicaid Estate Recovery overview.

What Assets Go Into a MAPT?

Most families prioritize the residence, then consider which additional assets (if any) belong in the trust. Your plan should be customized.

Tax Treatment & Practical Notes

• Step-up in basis. Many MAPTs are drafted to be grantor trusts for income-tax purposes, preserving a full basis step-up at death—reducing capital gains if heirs later sell. Coordinate with your attorney/CPA.
• Primary residence treatment. Utah counties often continue primary-residence tax preferences where occupancy continues; confirm with your county and trustee.
• Flexibility to move. The trustee can sell the home and purchase a replacement residence inside the trust, keeping your occupancy rights intact.
• Administration. MAPTs require a diligent trustee and clean bookkeeping; add successor trustee provisions and clear powers.

Common Pitfalls to Avoid

• Funding too late. Transfers within the five-year window can trigger a penalty; start early.
• Leaving the settlor as a beneficiary of principal. This can expose the trust to recovery or counting as a resource.
• Retaining prohibited powers. If you keep powers to revoke or access principal, protection may fail.
• Poor trustee selection. Use a reliable, independent trustee with clear guidance and guardrails.
• Side agreements. Any off-document understanding that contradicts the trust can undermine protection.

MAPT Readiness Checklist

• Projected care horizon is 5+ years from now (or you accept the risk/penalty timing).
• You can give up access to principal in exchange for long-term protection.
• You have a trustworthy, independent person or corporate trustee to serve.
• We’ve mapped which assets to fund now vs. later, and which to exclude.
• We’ve addressed taxes, homestead treatment, and successor trustee planning.

Frequently Asked Questions

Will Medicaid still count my home if it’s in a MAPT?

After five years from funding, the home in a properly drafted MAPT is generally not a countable resource for eligibility.

Is my home safe from estate recovery in a MAPT?

Yes—provided the settlor is not a beneficiary of principal and only occupancy rights are reserved. Utah typically recovers from estates and from trusts where the recipient is both grantor and beneficiary. A well-drafted MAPT avoids that.

Can I refinance or sell the home?

The trustee manages title. The trust can sell the home and purchase a replacement residence, preserving your occupancy rights.

Can I change my mind later?

A MAPT is irrevocable; that’s why it works. We build in practical safeguards (trustee succession, limited powers, replacement residence authority) to balance protection with flexibility.

Legal Sources & Citations

• 42 U.S.C. § 1396p (Liens, adjustments & recoveries; transfers of assets; treatment of trusts and five-year look-back).
• Utah Admin. Code R414-305-7 (Treatment of trusts for Medicaid eligibility).
• Utah Code § 26B-3-1013 (Estate recovery, including recoverable trusts).
• Utah Medicaid — Estate Recovery (program overview; exceptions; liens).
• Utah trust & spendthrift organization (Title 75B) for drafting context on protections and governance.

Disclaimer: This article is educational and not legal advice. Laws change and your facts matter—please consult a Utah elder-law attorney.