Is a Third-Party Supplemental Needs Trust right for you?

While a first-party supplemental needs trust is designed to allow a disabled beneficiary place their own funds or assets in a trust, a third-party supplemental needs trust is meant for family members to assist a person with disabilities.

Just like a first-party supplemental needs trust, the assets in the third-party trust do not jeopardize the beneficiary’s eligibility for Supplemental Security Income (SSI). A third-party supplemental needs trust can hold any assets that the family wishes to provide (e.g. stocks, bonds, houses, etc.). Rather than giving the disabled individual the funds directly, the family can transfer them to the trust in order to provide a benefit to the beneficiary while not disqualifying the beneficiary from receiving government benefits.

While the beneficiary of the first-party supplemental needs trust must be below the age of 65, the age of the beneficiary does not matter for a third-party supplemental needs trust. Another key difference is that there is no payback requirement for a third-party supplemental needs trust. This means that when the beneficiary passes away, the remaining assets in the trust can be passed to relatives or charity instead of being used to reimburse the government.

If you have further questions on this topic or wish to set up a third-party supplemental needs trust, contact our office at (941) 906-1231 to schedule an appointment with one of our attorneys.