What happens to money in a Special Needs Trust when the trust beneficiary dies?

There are two kinds of Special Needs Trust, the First Party trust and the Third Party Trust.  The First Party Trust contains money and assets in the protected person’s name, e.g. from a car wreck.  The Third Party Trust is formed and funded by assets of a third party, e. g. grandparents). The answer will be the same in either case.  The purpose of a Special Needs Trust is to protect the trust assets from having to be spent on the primary care of the protected person before Medicaid or other Government Assistance Programs will provide care.  This avoids the “Medicaid spend down.”  Thus, the trust money can be spent on special comfort or care items that Medicaid will not cover.  When the protected person dies, any money remaining in the trust must first be paid to Medicaid or other Government Assistance program to repay that program for the care it provided.  If any funds are left after Medicaid or other programs are paid, then that money will pass to the contingent beneficiary that was designated when the trust was formed.