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Special Needs Trust

What is a Special Needs Trust?

By Estate PlanningNo Comments

Do you have a loved one who is disabled or has special needs? If so, then a special needs trust (also known as a supplemental needs trust) may be the right option for you and your family. A special needs trust provides your disabled loved one with financial support and is designed to supplement the benefits that a disabled person may receive from government programs. A special needs trust is used so that an individual can still qualify for and receive medical benefits and supplemental security income, without the assets in the trust being calculated as a part of their income when it comes to determining eligibility for benefits from government programs.

If you have further inquiries regarding this matter, please contact our office at: 941-906-1231 to schedule an appointment with one of our attorneys.

October 27, 2017
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Special Needs Trust Fairness Act

By Asset Protection Planning, Government BenefitsNo Comments

Yesterday a historic bill was signed into law by President Obama.  It allocates over $1 billion to fund Alzheimer’s research to find a cause and a cure, and methods of prevention.  Since so many of our elderly we serve and their families are devastated by this terrible disease, we have been given hope that the necessary amount of attention has been given by this bipartisan legislation to address this issue which left unchecked, could overwhelm our institutional care programs and service delivery infrastructure.

In addition it immediately gives a disabled individual, who is legally competent, the right to establish their own self- funded d4A Special Needs Trust.  This is a trust which exempts assets from being considered by Medicaid.  However all self- settled special needs trust are subject to a Medicaid payback on the death of the beneficiary.  This will end the foolish waste of time getting an elderly parent or a court to establish an individual SNT for a person who could do so himself or herself, but for the mistake made in the original OBRA ’93 act that left out the word “individual.”

If you have further questions on this topic please contact our office at (941) 906-1231 to schedule an appointment with one of our attorneys.

December 14, 2016
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Babette B. Bach, Esq. to Lecture about Estate Planning for Parents of Children with Special Needs

By Estate Planning, Firm News, Government BenefitsNo Comments

Attorney Babette B. Bach will give a presentation on estate planning for parents of children with special needs on October 14, 2014 at the Lakewood Ranch YMCA.  Topics will include planning for a child with special needs with a particular emphasis on special needs trusts.

If you have a child with special needs and would like legal advice on how to properly plan for your child in your estate planning, please contact Bach & Jacobs, P.A. at (941) 906-1231 for an initial consultation.

October 14, 2014
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Changes to Special Needs Trust Law in POMS

By Elder Law, Estate PlanningNo Comments

In September 2012, there was a change in the POMS prohibiting Special Needs Trustees from being able to reimburse family members for travel to visit a beneficiary. This change stated that a Special Needs Trust document that states that the trust funds can be used to reimburse family members visiting a beneficiary would cause the trust to violate the sole-benefit rule (and make the trust a countable resource). It also prohibited payment of travel expenses to a companion assisting the beneficiary in travel.

Fortunately, on December 18, 2012 the Social Security Administration published yet another change to the POMS which removed the two previously added examples. Special Needs Trusts can once again pay for travel of family members visiting the beneficiary and companion travel fees for assisting the beneficiary with their traveling.

If you need legal advice for estate planning, Asset Protection Planning, Medicaid or planning, please contact our office at (941) 906-1231 for an initial consultation.

January 20, 2013
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Special Needs Trust with Babette and Fred (VIDEO)

By Estate PlanningNo Comments

 

Babette: One of the things that an elder law attorney specializes in is estate planning for a disabled beneficiary. Many of our clients have children or grandchildren who are suffering from various disabilities and receive governmental benefits. If they receive medicaid, they need to do a special needs trust in order for that beneficiary to be able to receive an inheritance and have their governmental benefits protected. We often work on a team approach doing the estate planning for a family that’s very concerned about a disabled beneficiary.
Fred: The special needs trust is a very exacting document. You must draft the document so that the beneficiary, that is, the disabled person, gets all the benefits from the trust that the creator of the trust intended but at the same time, does not get kicked off medicaid or another governmental benefit. The way you accomplish that is to give to the trustee, whether it be a family member or perhaps a trust department of a bank, the complete discretion as to whether or not to distribute income or principle benefits to the disabled beneficiary so long as everything is done in the best interests of the beneficiary.

September 29, 2010
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