You can provide for a disabled loved one who is receiving public benefits without jeopardizing their eligibility. With a Special Needs Trust, you will give yourself peace-of-mind knowing that your disabled family member is being cared for the way you wanted.
Leaving assets, whether through gift, will or a trust, to a beneficiary receiving means-tested public benefits, will in most cases simply cause them to forfeit their eligibility in the benefits program. In some cases, if the bequest or gift is of sufficient size to more than compensate for a lifetime of benefits, this may be the desired goal. In most cases, however, such a bequest will simply cause a few years of ineligibility until the gifted funds are exhausted.
We handle “first party,” “third party” and “litigation” Special Needs Trusts. Our familiarity with public benefit programs allows us to structure your Special Needs Trust to supplement your loved one’s benefits, rather than replace them. We also provide ongoing services for trustee’s administering Special Needs Trusts. It is important that a special needs trust trustee does not distribute funds in a fashion causing ineligibility of the family member receiving the public benefits. We can help see that they do not fall into any such traps.
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