Special Needs Trusts in Nevada

A Comprehensive Legal Summary | Updated June 2026

Introduction and Definition

A Special Needs Trust (SNT) is a trust designed to hold assets for a person with a disability without those assets being counted as available resources for means-tested government benefit programs such as Nevada Medicaid (administered by the Nevada Division of Welfare and Supportive Services, DWSS) and federal Supplemental Security Income (SSI). A properly structured SNT enables a beneficiary to receive supplemental support — private-pay therapies and specialty medical care, assistive technology, home and vehicle modifications, transportation, education, recreation, and personal enrichment — without losing the Medicaid coverage and SSI income that typically underpin long-term care for people with severe disabilities.

Nevada special needs trust law is governed primarily by Nevada Revised Statutes (NRS) Chapters 163 and 164, which together constitute Nevada’s comprehensive trust administration framework. Nevada has not adopted the Uniform Trust Code but has developed a robust, practitioner-shaped trust law through its own statutory scheme. NRS § 165.1207 specifically grants beneficiaries of special needs trusts the right to request a full accounting of trust expenditures — a transparency provision that applies to both first-party and third-party SNTs. Nevada Medicaid’s treatment of trusts is governed by the Division of Welfare and Supportive Services policy document F-500 (Treatment of Trusts). All Nevada SNTs must also comply with federal Medicaid law under 42 U.S.C. § 1396p(d)(4) and SSA policy governing the SSI program.

Nevada presents a distinctive planning environment in this series for several reasons. Nevada is an income-cap state — applicants whose income exceeds $2,982/month must use a Qualified Income Trust (Miller Trust) to access long-term care or HCBS waiver Medicaid. Nevada is also an SSI Criteria state: it uses the same financial eligibility criteria as SSI, but unlike 1634 states where SSI approval triggers automatic Medicaid enrollment, Nevada requires a separate Medicaid application to DWSS even when SSI is already established. Nevada is one of nine community property states — a designation that introduces significant planning considerations for married beneficiaries and their families. And Nevada has no state income tax, which eliminates any state tax deduction for SNT-related planning but also removes a category of tax complexity from trust administration entirely.

Types of Special Needs Trusts

Nevada recognizes three primary types of special needs trusts under state and federal law:

First-Party (Self-Settled) Special Needs Trusts

A first-party SNT is funded with assets belonging to the person with the disability — most commonly proceeds from a personal injury settlement, a direct inheritance, or accumulated savings that would otherwise disqualify the individual from Medicaid or SSI. Because the beneficiary’s own resources fund the trust, a Medicaid payback provision is required at death. Key structural requirements include:

• The trust must be established for the sole benefit of a person with a disability as defined under the SSI program.
• The beneficiary must be under age 65 at the time the trust is established and initially funded. No new assets may be added after the beneficiary’s 65th birthday, though the trust continues for assets already held.
• The trust must be irrevocable.
• The trust must be established by the beneficiary, a parent, grandparent, legal guardian, or a court. The Special Needs Trust Fairness Act of 2016 permits the beneficiary to establish their own first-party SNT.
• The beneficiary may not serve as sole trustee of their own first-party SNT without risk of the trust being treated as a countable resource.
• The trustee must hold sole and absolute discretion over all distributions. Any ascertainable standard or mandatory payment provision will cause the trust to be treated as a countable resource for both Medicaid and SSI.
• Distributions must be made directly to providers of goods and services, not as cash to the beneficiary, to avoid creating countable income under SSI rules.
• At the beneficiary’s death, the Nevada DWSS (or successor agency) must receive notice and be reimbursed for all Medicaid benefits paid on behalf of the beneficiary before remaining assets pass to other beneficiaries.

Third-Party Special Needs Trusts

A third-party SNT is funded with assets belonging to someone other than the beneficiary — parents, grandparents, other family members, or friends. Because the beneficiary never owned the contributed assets, no Medicaid payback is required at death. The grantor freely determines who receives remaining trust assets after the beneficiary’s death, making third-party SNTs the preferred vehicle for family estate planning, gifts, and life insurance proceeds.

Nevada’s NRS Chapters 163 and 164 provide strong discretionary trust and spendthrift protections. A beneficiary’s creditors generally cannot compel a trustee to make distributions from a purely discretionary trust, protecting third-party SNT assets from the beneficiary’s creditors throughout a potentially lengthy administration. Nevada’s favorable trust laws — including strong asset protection statutes developed independently of the Uniform Trust Code — make it a particularly attractive trust administration jurisdiction for large or complex trusts, and these protections apply to third-party SNTs as well.

In the community property context, third-party SNTs require particular care when funded by a married grantor. Nevada community property law under NRS Chapter 123 provides that all property acquired during marriage is owned equally by both spouses (NRS 123.230). Neither spouse may transfer community property into a trust without the other’s written consent. When a parent or grandparent creates a third-party SNT for a beneficiary with a disability, careful analysis of which assets are community property versus separate property is necessary before funding the trust, and the non-contributing spouse’s consent may be required.

Pooled Special Needs Trusts

Pooled trusts are administered by nonprofit organizations that maintain separate sub-accounts for individual beneficiaries while pooling funds for investment purposes. Nevada permits pooled trusts consistent with 42 U.S.C. § 1396p(d)(4)(C). At the death of a first-party pooled sub-account beneficiary, Nevada DWSS Medicaid payback applies, though the nonprofit may retain a portion of remaining funds as permitted by federal law. Third-party pooled accounts carry no payback requirement.

Pooled trusts are particularly useful for beneficiaries whose trust assets are modest in amount, where the cost of establishing and administering a standalone SNT with a professional trustee would be disproportionate to the trust’s size. Nevada beneficiaries have access to national pooled trust programs that accept Nevada residents. Trustees considering a pooled trust should confirm that the nonprofit administrator is familiar with Nevada DWSS Medicaid rules and the separate Medicaid application requirement that applies even to SSI recipients in Nevada.

Requirements for Legal Compliance

For SNT assets to be excluded from countable resources under Nevada Medicaid and SSI rules, the trust must meet the following structural requirements:

• The beneficiary cannot exercise an unrestricted right to withdraw trust assets.
• The trustee must hold sole and absolute discretion over all distributions — no ascertainable standard may obligate payment.
• The trust must supplement — not supplant, replace, or substitute for — the public benefits to which the beneficiary is entitled.
• First-party trusts must be irrevocable, limited to beneficiaries under age 65 at establishment, and include a valid Nevada DWSS Medicaid payback provision.
• The beneficiary may not serve as sole trustee of their own first-party SNT.

Nevada is an SSI Criteria state — it uses the same income and resource eligibility criteria as the federal SSI program. However, unlike 1634 states where SSI approval triggers automatic Medicaid enrollment through a data link between SSA and the state Medicaid agency, Nevada requires a separate Medicaid application to DWSS even when SSI has already been granted. This is a critical procedural distinction: SNT beneficiaries in Nevada who receive SSI must file a separate application for Nevada Medicaid with DWSS, and trustees and families should ensure this step is taken promptly to avoid gaps in Medicaid coverage. Nevada Medicaid is administered through DWSS (Division of Welfare and Supportive Services); contact is available at 1-800-992-0900 or dwss.nv.gov.

Nevada is an income-cap state for long-term care and HCBS waiver Medicaid. An applicant whose gross monthly income exceeds $2,982/month (the federal 300% SSI FBR standard for 2026) cannot qualify for nursing home Medicaid or most HCBS waiver programs without a Qualified Income Trust (QIT), commonly called a Miller Trust. The QIT must be properly established and funded before the Medicaid application is submitted — the trust must pre-exist approval, not follow it. Each month, the beneficiary’s income exceeding $2,982 is deposited into the QIT, reducing countable income to the allowable level. Any funds remaining in the QIT at the beneficiary’s death are subject to DWSS Medicaid payback. A Miller Trust is an entirely separate instrument from the beneficiary’s SNT, and the two must be carefully coordinated to avoid double-counting income or triggering unintended eligibility consequences.

Nevada’s Medicaid asset limit is $2,000 for a single individual. A properly structured SNT removes trust assets from this countable resource calculation entirely. Nevada applies a 60-month (five-year) look-back period for nursing home Medicaid and most HCBS waivers. DWSS will review all asset transfers made within the prior 60 months to confirm they were not gifted or sold for less than fair market value. Transfers that do not satisfy the look-back rules can trigger a penalty period of ineligibility. Funding a first-party SNT with the beneficiary’s own assets is not a disqualifying transfer; however, funding a third-party SNT with assets that were already the beneficiary’s property could trigger look-back scrutiny and should be analyzed by Nevada SNT counsel before proceeding.

Nevada applies Medicaid estate recovery using the probate estate definition — recovery is limited to assets passing through the beneficiary’s probate estate rather than the expanded estate definition used in some other states in this series. A properly structured irrevocable SNT, whose assets do not pass through the beneficiary’s probate estate, provides reliable protection from DWSS estate recovery claims after a first-party trust terminates. For third-party SNTs, there is no DWSS payback claim because the assets were never the beneficiary’s property.

Limitations on Disbursements

A Nevada SNT trustee has broad discretion to pay for goods and services that supplement what Nevada Medicaid and SSI already provide. Permissible disbursements include supplemental medical care not covered by Nevada Medicaid, dental and vision services, assistive and adaptive technology, additional personal care hours beyond what the HCBS waiver funds, home and vehicle modifications, transportation, education, vocational training, recreational activities, entertainment, travel, telephone and internet services, clothing, and personal items that enhance quality of life.

Two distribution rules govern the effect of disbursements on SSI:

Food: As of September 30, 2024, food is no longer classified as In-Kind Support and Maintenance (ISM) by SSA. A trustee may now pay directly for groceries, restaurant meals, food delivery services, and dietary supplements without reducing the beneficiary’s SSI payment. Payments should be made directly to vendors rather than as cash to the beneficiary.

Housing: Payments for shelter-related expenses — rent, mortgage, property taxes, utilities, and condo fees — can still reduce SSI by up to the federal ISM cap (approximately $351/month in 2026). Nevada SNT trustees should consult specialized counsel before making housing disbursements and should consider ownership structures that may reduce or eliminate ISM exposure. In Nevada’s community property context, housing owned jointly with a spouse requires additional analysis before the SNT makes payments on that housing.

The QIT/Miller Trust coordination dimension is particularly important in the disbursement context. For a Nevada beneficiary who receives income above $2,982/month and uses a Miller Trust to qualify for long-term care Medicaid, the SNT and the Miller Trust must operate as distinct instruments with clearly separate roles: the Miller Trust channels excess income to DWSS-eligible spending under strict rules, while the SNT provides supplemental support from trust assets. The trustee and counsel must ensure that distributions from each instrument do not inadvertently affect the other’s eligibility function.

Ancillary Issues

Nevada as a Community Property State — Planning Implications

Nevada is one of nine community property states, a designation with significant implications for SNT planning. Under Nevada law (NRS Chapter 123), all property acquired by either spouse during marriage is presumed to be community property — owned 50/50 by each spouse — regardless of whose name appears on the title. Neither spouse may transfer community property into a trust, including a special needs trust, without the written consent of the other (NRS 123.230).

The community property characterization affects SNT planning in several important ways. When a parent wishes to fund a third-party SNT for an adult child with a disability, they must first determine whether the assets they intend to transfer are separate property (owned before marriage or received as a gift or inheritance during marriage) or community property. If they are community property, both spouses must consent to the transfer. When a married beneficiary with a disability receives a personal injury settlement, that settlement may be characterized as separate property (for the injured spouse’s personal injury pain and suffering damages) or community property (for lost wages and medical expenses), depending on Nevada law’s treatment, which should be confirmed with Nevada counsel before funding a first-party SNT.

A notable tax planning advantage of community property: when one spouse dies, both halves of community property receive a full step-up in income tax basis to fair market value (not just the deceased spouse’s half, as in common law states). This step-up can significantly reduce capital gains tax exposure when community property assets are later sold by the surviving spouse or the trust. Nevada SNT trustees administering trusts that hold community property or community property-derived assets should be aware of this basis step-up opportunity.

Nevada’s Trust-Favorable Legal Environment

Nevada has deliberately cultivated one of the most trust-friendly legal environments in the United States, independent of the Uniform Trust Code. Nevada’s trust laws under NRS Chapters 163 and 164 provide several advantages relevant to SNT administration:

Nevada Domestic Asset Protection Trusts (DAPTs): Nevada was among the first states to permit self-settled asset protection trusts (NRS 166 — the Nevada Spendthrift Trust Act). Nevada DAPTs allow a grantor who is also a beneficiary to place assets in an irrevocable trust while retaining some beneficial interest, with strong creditor protection after a two-year statute of limitations for creditor challenges. While DAPTs are a distinct instrument from SNTs, Nevada’s DAPT framework reflects the same creditor protection philosophy that supports strong discretionary SNT protections and makes Nevada an attractive trust administration jurisdiction for large or complex trust assets.

Directed Trust Statute: Nevada’s directed trust statute (NRS 163.5553) permits the separation of trustee functions between a corporate trustee handling investments and a trust protector or distribution committee handling distribution decisions. This bifurcated structure is particularly useful for large SNTs where investment management and distribution judgment are best handled by different parties with different expertise.

No Rule Against Perpetuities: Nevada has abolished the rule against perpetuities for trusts, allowing Nevada trusts to potentially continue indefinitely. While a beneficiary’s lifetime SNT will typically terminate at the beneficiary’s death regardless, the absence of a perpetuities rule provides flexibility for multi-generational trust planning that may include SNT sub-trusts for future beneficiaries with disabilities.

Strong Spendthrift Protections: Nevada’s spendthrift trust statutes provide robust protection against creditor claims, consistent with the discretionary trust protections that are essential to SNT administration. Creditors of a beneficiary generally cannot compel distributions from a discretionary Nevada trust.

Qualified Income Trusts (Miller Trusts) in Nevada

Because Nevada is an income-cap state, a QIT/Miller Trust is required for any beneficiary whose gross monthly income exceeds $2,982/month (the 2026 cap) and who seeks nursing home Medicaid or HCBS waiver coverage. The QIT is an irrevocable trust into which the beneficiary deposits income each month in excess of the cap. The deposited funds are then applied to the cost of care, leaving the beneficiary with only the personal needs allowance ($45-$70/month) and applicable deductions. Upon the beneficiary’s death, any funds remaining in the QIT are subject to DWSS Medicaid payback for benefits paid.

Key QIT requirements in Nevada include: the trust must be established before the Medicaid application is filed; only the beneficiary’s income may be deposited into the QIT; the trust must be irrevocable and the beneficiary may not serve as sole trustee; and the trust must designate Nevada DWSS as the first remainder beneficiary after the beneficiary’s death. Nevada SNT counsel should draft the QIT carefully to avoid any provisions that could cause DWSS to treat the QIT itself as a countable resource or to treat QIT deposits as available income for the SNT.

The interplay between the QIT and the beneficiary’s SNT is a recurring issue in Nevada long-term care planning. The QIT manages the beneficiary’s monthly income flow; the SNT holds and manages the beneficiary’s non-income assets and funds supplemental distributions. Neither instrument should reference or subordinate the other in ways that could blur the legal boundary between them. Medical Fund Advisors’ professional administration service coordinates between QIT and SNT administration to ensure that distributions from each instrument are appropriately tracked and reported to DWSS.

ABLE Nevada — No State Tax Deduction, High Account Cap

Nevada’s ABLE program — ABLE Nevada — is administered through the Nevada State Treasurer’s office and the ABLE program partnership at savewithable.com/nv. Key 2026 features include:

• Annual contributions from all sources are capped at $20,000. Employed beneficiaries may contribute an additional amount up to $15,560 above the standard cap under the ABLE to Work provision.
• Account balances up to $100,000 are exempt from SSI resource counting. Balances above $100,000 suspend (but do not terminate) SSI eligibility.

Nevada state income tax deduction — None: Nevada has no state individual income tax. There are accordingly no Nevada state income tax deductions or credits available for ABLE account contributions, in contrast to states like Nebraska ($10,000 deduction), Michigan ($5,000/$10,000), and Missouri ($8,000/$16,000) in this series. The absence of a state tax benefit for ABLE contributions is simply a function of Nevada’s no-income-tax structure, and is fully offset for Nevada residents by the federal income tax advantages and the account’s exclusion from Medicaid resource counts.

Account limit — $370,000: Nevada’s ABLE account maximum balance is $370,000 — among the highest account caps in this series, tied to Nevada’s 529 plan limits. While SSI exemption only applies to the first $100,000, a Nevada ABLE account can accumulate significantly more before distributions are required, providing long-term accumulation potential that may be particularly useful for beneficiaries with access to ABLE to Work contributions.

The ABLE Age Adjustment Act, effective January 2026, raises the qualifying disability onset age from 26 to 46, substantially expanding eligibility for ABLE Nevada.

ABLE account estate recovery: Nevada exercises its Medicaid payback rights against ABLE account balances at the account holder’s death for Medicaid benefits paid after the account was opened. Families may choose to use a third-party SNT (no payback) alongside an ABLE account, with the SNT funding the ABLE account for day-to-day supplemental spending while the SNT serves as the primary investment and accumulation vehicle.

Nevada HCBS Waiver Programs

Nevada administers several HCBS waiver programs through DWSS and the Division of Health Care Financing and Policy (DHCFP):

Waiver for Frail Elderly (FE Waiver): Nevada’s primary HCBS waiver for adults aged 65 and older who require nursing home level of care but choose to remain in the community. Services include personal care, home health aide services, adult day care, respite care, and home modifications. The FE Waiver has its own income and functional eligibility criteria, and Miller Trust planning may be required for applicants whose income exceeds the $2,982/month cap.

Structured Family Caregiving Waiver: A Nevada waiver program that provides a tax-free financial stipend to family members or close friends serving as live-in caregivers for beneficiaries who qualify for nursing home level of care. SNT trustees should factor in any family caregiver stipend when planning supplemental distributions to ensure the trust does not duplicate services already funded by the waiver.

Developmental Disabilities Waivers: Nevada administers HCBS waivers for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities, providing community-based supports including day habilitation, residential habilitation, employment support, and behavioral services. Demand for DD waiver services typically exceeds available slots, and families should begin the application process early. SNT distributions should supplement — not duplicate — DD waiver-funded services.

No Nevada State Income Tax — Trust Administration Implications

Nevada imposes no state individual income tax. For SNT administration purposes, this means that trust income — interest, dividends, capital gains, and other investment income generated within the SNT — is not subject to Nevada state income tax at the trust or beneficiary level. Nevada SNTs may be subject to federal income taxation depending on how the trust is characterized (grantor versus non-grantor) and the nature of income generated. Federal tax planning for large Nevada SNTs should be addressed with qualified tax counsel, but the absence of a state income tax removes one entire layer of annual tax compliance and cost from Nevada trust administration that is present in states like Minnesota, Massachusetts, and Missouri.

Administration and Oversight

Nevada’s favorable trust law environment — strong asset protection statutes, directed trust provisions, and no rule against perpetuities — makes it an attractive jurisdiction for professional SNT administration of large or complex trusts. But the favorable legal environment does not simplify the underlying benefit compliance work: the QIT/SNT coordination requirement, the separate DWSS Medicaid application (even for SSI recipients), the community property considerations for married beneficiaries, the 60-month look-back review, and the NRS § 165.1207 accounting obligation all require ongoing professional expertise. The trustee of a Nevada SNT must maintain meticulous records and benefit from experienced administrative support.

The Complexity of the Role Demands Expertise

A Nevada SNT trustee must simultaneously navigate federal SSI rules, Nevada DWSS Medicaid policy under F-500, the income-cap and Miller Trust framework, the community property analysis for married beneficiaries, HCBS waiver service plan coordination, the 60-month look-back period, and the ongoing trustee duties imposed by NRS Chapters 163 and 164 — all while making individualized distribution decisions that protect the beneficiary’s eligibility. In Nevada, where SSI alone does not trigger Medicaid enrollment, the trustee must also track that the beneficiary has filed and maintained a separate Medicaid application with DWSS. Missing that step can leave a beneficiary without Medicaid coverage despite having an SSI award — a potentially serious and entirely avoidable gap.

Trustees owe a fiduciary duty to act at all times in the beneficiary’s best interests under Nevada law. Decisions inconsistent with this duty expose the trustee to personal liability. A professional trustee with SNT experience is trained to recognize and manage these risks. Nevada’s directed trust statute offers an option to separate trustee investment functions from distribution decision-making, which can reduce the burden on any single party and improve overall governance of large trusts.

Professionals Bring Specialized Knowledge That Protects Benefits

With Medical Fund Advisors serving as professional administrator, legal counsel and families gain a partner with deep expertise in Nevada DWSS Medicaid policy, SSI distribution rules, Miller Trust and SNT coordination, and the community property considerations unique to Nevada planning. Medical Fund Advisors helps ensure that the DWSS Medicaid application is filed and maintained (not assumed from SSI), that Miller Trust deposits are correctly calculated and documented each month, that SNT distributions are structured to supplement rather than jeopardize waiver eligibility, and that the NRS § 165.1207 accounting is maintained and available upon request. The result is a Nevada SNT that performs as designed throughout the beneficiary’s lifetime, without avoidable gaps in public benefit coverage.

Separating Trustee and Administrative Roles Adds Oversight

Nevada’s directed trust statute (NRS 163.5553) expressly contemplates the separation of trustee functions — investment management from distribution decision-making — and provides a statutory model for bifurcated trust governance. Medical Fund Advisors’ administrative role and the professional trustee’s fiduciary role are complementary and mutually reinforcing: the trustee authorizes distributions and oversees investments; Medical Fund Advisors handles recordkeeping, vendor payments, DWSS coordination, waiver service plan alignment, QIT/SNT interplay tracking, and monthly reporting. This separation ensures no single point of failure, reduces error risk, and adds a layer of oversight that protects both the beneficiary and the fiduciary.

Institutional Continuity Protects the Beneficiary Over a Lifetime

A Nevada beneficiary with a significant disability may depend on their SNT for decades. Individual trustees age, move, and predecease beneficiaries. Institutional professional administration provides the continuity that individuals cannot. Nevada’s strong trust laws — long-established and developed outside the UTC framework — provide a stable and predictable legal environment for long-duration SNT administration. Medical Fund Advisors’ institutional continuity, combined with Nevada’s trust-favorable legal infrastructure, creates a durable platform for benefit-compliant SNT administration over the full arc of the beneficiary’s life.

The Recommended Structure

Best practice for Nevada SNTs is a layered arrangement: a professional trustee (which may leverage Nevada’s directed trust statute to separate investment and distribution functions) handles fiduciary decision-making; Medical Fund Advisors serves as the day-to-day professional administrator handling DWSS coordination, QIT/SNT interplay, community property analysis, waiver service plan alignment, NRS § 165.1207 accounting, and vendor payments; and a trusted family member or advocate serves as trust protector with the power to review accounts and remove or replace the professional trustee if warranted. The beneficiary should not hold trust protector removal power over a first-party SNT. This layered structure is fully consistent with Nevada’s NRS Chapters 163 and 164 framework and the directed trust statute, and provides the governance depth appropriate for a trust that may hold significant assets and operate for many decades.

Nevada Idiosyncrasies

SSI Criteria State — Separate Medicaid Application Required: Nevada uses the same financial eligibility criteria as the federal SSI program, but does not automatically enroll SSI recipients in Medicaid. Even after SSI is granted, the beneficiary must file a separate Medicaid application with the Nevada DWSS. Trustees, families, and counsel must ensure this step is completed promptly and the application is maintained to avoid gaps in Medicaid coverage. This is a critical procedural distinction from 1634 states where SSI approval triggers automatic enrollment.

Income Cap State — Miller Trust Required for Income > $2,982/month: Nevada is an income-cap state for long-term care and HCBS waiver Medicaid. Beneficiaries whose gross monthly income exceeds $2,982/month must establish a Qualified Income Trust (Miller Trust) before applying for Medicaid. The QIT must pre-exist Medicaid approval. At death, QIT funds are subject to DWSS Medicaid payback. The QIT operates separately from the beneficiary’s SNT, and careful coordination between the two instruments is essential.

Community Property State — Spousal Consent Required for Trust Funding: Nevada is one of nine community property states. All property acquired during marriage is presumed community property (NRS 123.230), and neither spouse may transfer community property into a trust — including a third-party SNT for a disabled family member — without the other spouse’s written consent. Grantors must identify whether assets are separate or community property before funding an SNT. When a married beneficiary receives a personal injury settlement, the community property characterization of the award must be analyzed by Nevada counsel before funding a first-party SNT.

Stepped-Up Basis Advantage on Community Property: When one spouse dies in a community property state, both halves of community property receive a full step-up in income tax basis to fair market value — a significant capital gains tax advantage compared to common law property states where only the deceased spouse’s half receives a step-up. Nevada SNT trustees and estate planners should factor this stepped-up basis advantage into the overall wealth planning for families of beneficiaries with disabilities.

Nevada Trust-Favorable Jurisdiction: Nevada’s trust laws (NRS Chapters 163-166) provide some of the strongest trust protections in the country, including the Nevada Domestic Asset Protection Trust (Nevada Spendthrift Trust Act, NRS 166), a directed trust statute permitting bifurcated trustee functions (NRS 163.5553), no rule against perpetuities for trusts, and robust spendthrift protections. These provisions make Nevada an attractive jurisdiction for the administration of large or complex SNTs.

No State Income Tax — No ABLE or SNT Tax Deduction: Nevada imposes no state individual income tax. There are therefore no Nevada state income tax deductions or credits for ABLE account contributions or SNT-related planning. This removes a benefit available in many other states in this series but also eliminates an entire category of annual tax compliance for Nevada trusts and beneficiaries. Federal income tax planning for large Nevada SNTs remains important.

ABLE Nevada — $370,000 Account Cap: ABLE Nevada accounts may accumulate up to $370,000 — among the highest account caps in this series. Annual contributions are capped at $20,000 ($35,560 with ABLE to Work). No Nevada state tax deduction is available. Nevada exercises Medicaid payback rights against ABLE balances at death. The $370,000 cap provides significant long-term accumulation potential, particularly for beneficiaries who use ABLE to Work contributions over many years.

Probate Estate Recovery Only: Nevada limits Medicaid estate recovery to the probate estate — not the expanded estate definition used in some other states in this series. A properly structured irrevocable SNT, whose assets pass outside the probate estate, provides reliable protection from DWSS estate recovery claims at the beneficiary’s death. Third-party SNT assets are not subject to DWSS estate recovery claims at all.

NRS § 165.1207 — Beneficiary Accounting Rights: Nevada statute gives SNT beneficiaries (and, in practice, their families and guardians) the right to request a full accounting of trust expenditures. This applies to both first-party and third-party SNTs. Professional SNT administrators — including Medical Fund Advisors — maintain the records necessary to fulfill this obligation at any time, without delay or disruption to trust operations.

60-Month Look-Back — Pre-Application Transfer Review: Nevada applies a 60-month look-back period for nursing home Medicaid and most HCBS waivers. DWSS reviews asset transfers made in the prior five years for less-than-fair-market-value transfers. Funding a first-party SNT with the beneficiary’s own assets is not a disqualifying transfer, but transferring assets that were already the beneficiary’s property into a third-party SNT could trigger look-back scrutiny and should be reviewed by Nevada SNT counsel before proceeding.

Disclaimer: This summary is for general informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Nevada DWSS Medicaid policy, Nevada trust law under NRS Chapters 163-166, and applicable state and federal statutes are subject to change, and the application of Nevada special needs trust law to individual circumstances requires analysis by a qualified Nevada attorney experienced in special needs planning, elder law, and community property.

Prepared by Medical Fund Advisors | [email protected] | www.trustmfa.com