What is the purpose of a Special Needs Trust?

When should a Special Needs Trust be established?

Who can establish a Special Needs Trust?

Our family is wealthy. Do we still need to create a Special Needs Trust?

While you can certainly bequest money and assets to those with special needs, such a bequest may prevent them from qualifying for essential benefits under the Supplemental Security Income (SSI) and Medicaid programs.  However, public monetary benefits provide only for the bare necessities such as food, housing and clothing.  As you can imagine, these limited benefits will not provide those loved ones with the resources that would allow them to enjoy a richer quality of life.  But if parents leave any assets to their child who is receiving public benefits, they run the risk of disqualifying the child from receiving them. Fortunately, the government has established rules allowing assets to be held in trust, called a “Special Needs” or “Supplemental Needs”  Trust  for the benefit of a recipient of SSI and Medicaid, as long as certain requirements are met.

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Generally, a Special Needs Trust should be established no later than the beneficiary’s 65th birthday. If you have a disabled or chronically ill beneficiary, you may want to consider establishing the Special Needs Trust at an early age.  One benefit of having the Trust in place is that if the disabled beneficiary becomes the recipient of funds such as gifts, bequests or a settlement from a lawsuit they can immediately be transferred to the Special Needs Trust without affecting that individual’s eligibility for government benefits.

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While Special Needs Trusts are typically established by parents for their disabled children, any third party can establish a Special Needs Trust for the benefit of a disabled beneficiary.  It is important to seek the assistance of competent counsel when creating a Special Needs Trust.  Indeed, a poorly drafted Trust can easily be subject to “invasion” by the government agencies who provide benefits.  Our law firm has the experience and the expertise to establish effective Special Needs Trusts for anyone who wishes to provide for a disabled beneficiary.

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Yes, you should still establish a Special Needs Trust to protect your disabled beneficiaries from potential creditors.  For example, if your disabled beneficiaries are ever sued in a personal injury action, the assets in the trust would not be available to the plaintiffs.  Furthermore, because the funds in the Special Needs Trust are not countable as available assets for purposes of determining government benefit eligibility, more of your money can be used for those supplemental expenditures that will allow your disabled beneficiary to enjoy a higher quality of life.  Otherwise, much of your assets will be used to pay for private care benefits that are extremely expensive and can drain even significant sums of money over a period of years.

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You’re Invited to Call or E-mail

If you have any questions or comments about any aspect of estate planning,
trust, or probate law, please feel free to call me at (949) 497-5056 or email me at LDaff@estateplaninc.com.   I'll be happy to hear from you and will do my best to help.

- Leslie

Orange County Estate Planning Lawyer: Attorney specializing in wills, trusts, estate planning, probate and trust administration, serving all of Orange County, including Laguna Beach, Irvine, Aliso Viejo, Corona Del Mar, Newport Beach, Balboa, Dana Point, Laguna Niguel, Laguna Hills, Laguna Woods, Huntington Beach, Mission Viejo, Dana Point, San Clemente, El Toro, Lake Forest, Costa Mesa, San Juan Capistrano, Anaheim, Anaheim Hills, Brea, Buena Park, Coto de Caza, Cypress, Dove Canyon, Foothill Ranch, Fountain Valley, Fullerton, Stanton, Garden Grove, Ladera Ranch, La Habra, La Palma, Los Alamitos, Orange, Placentia, Portola Hills, Rancho Santa Margarita, Trabuco Canyon, Tustin, Villa Park, Westminster, Yorba Linda, Santa Ana, and Seal Beach.