Special Needs Planning

Special needs planning involves the planning for a developmentally disabled person or for planning that involves passing down an inheritance to a developmentally disabled person. If you have a special needs child or a loved one you provide care for, you likely know the delicate balancing act required to ensure that your child or loved one continues to receive his or her Supplemental Security Income, Social Security Disability Income, or other form of governmental assistance. Leaving your special needs child or loved one any monies or property as part of your estate plan can result in your child or loved one losing his or her government assistance.

Our special needs planning attorney can assist you in providing for your special needs child or loved one in such a way that is intended to allow your child or loved one to receive additional assistance from you all the while protecting and preserving their government benefits. This may include the preparation of a supplemental needs trust to hold assets for the benefit of your child or loved one. These trusts can be created as part of your estate plan or as a stand-alone trust.

Supplemental needs trusts must meet several requirements in order to be effective in preserving government benefits. As the name suggests, the purpose of the trust is to supplement, not replace, government benefits. Our experienced special needs planning attorney can assist you through this process to ensure that your child or loved one’s supplemental needs are met now and into the future.