Shaak v. Pennsylvania Department of Public Welfare

OPINION

NEWMAN, Justice.

The Pennsylvania Department of Public Welfare (“DPW”) has appealed from the order of the Commonwealth Court, which held that the corpus of an irrevocable trust, created by Appellee Elizabeth Shaak (Mrs. Shaak), was not an “available resource” to be considered when determining her eligibility for Medical Assistance benefits. For the reasons that follow, we reverse the order of the Commonwealth Court.

FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY

On April 6, 1988, Mrs. Shaak created an irrevocable trust into which she transferred the ownership of her home in Lebanon, Pennsylvania, naming…