Special Needs Planning

If you are the parent of a disabled child, this area will be of great interest to you. As you probably already know, any assets that are left directly to a person who is receiving government assistance can disqualify them immediately from any and all assistance that they are receiving.

If you are currently caring for a special needs person in your family or you know you will be responsible for a special needs person in the future, please seek professional help before crisis time. With the high cost of care, failure to seek qualified professional assistance could be financially devastating.

What is a Special Needs Trust?

A Special Needs Trust is a trust that holds title to property for the benefit of a child or adult who has a disability. The funds in the trust are used for the disabled individual to supplement benefits not provided through government assistance programs such as SSI and Medicaid. The trust can hold real property, personal property, cash, or can be the beneficiary of life insurance proceeds.

The funds in the trust are spent to ensure the comfort and happiness of the disabled person when such requisites are not being provided by any private agency or by a government agency. This can include treatment and rehabilitation, equipment, eye glasses, medical and dental expenses, training, education, transportation, travel, insurance and other items to enhance self-esteem.

Who can establish a Special Needs Trust?

Parents and other family members of a disabled child can establish a Special Needs Trust as a part of their general estate plan. The parents can "pour-over" the disabled child's share of their estate into this special needs trust and not worry that their loved one will be prevented from receiving government assistance when they are no longer around to care for them.

A Special Needs Trust can also be established for the disabled individual who seeks to set aside their own funds for their own benefit in a "self-settled trust". Creating and administering this type of trust is extremely challenging due to the heavy correlation between trust requirements and the often unclear rules of the public benefits programs with regard to such trusts.

If you are the parent of a disabled child, this area will be of great interest to you. As you probably already know, any assets that are left directly to a person who is receiving government assistance can disqualify them immediately from any and all assistance that they are receiving. With the high cost of care, the results can be devastating.

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