A Special Needs Trust is just what is sounds like...a trust that is created to protect someone with special needs. I typically see families set these types of trusts up for family members with special needs in order to provide the person with assets, while still ensuring that the individual can access certain public benefits like Supplemental Security Income ("SSI"). Programs like SSI require that a person have limited countable resources. For instance, an individual applying for SSI must have less than $2,000.00 in countable resources in order to qualify for SSI. Funding a traditional trust would preclude an individual from qualifying for SSI unless the assets of the trust were under $2,000.00. Creating a Special Needs Trust, however, allows a family to leave their loved ones assets without jeopardizing the beneficiaries' public benefits.
Every State has different requirements for what type of wording a Special Needs Trusts needs to include. The rules also change from time to time. As a Social Security Disability attorney, I see families set up Special Needs Trusts to try to protect their loved ones, only to find that the trust fails when the person tries to apply for SSI. We saw this happen to one of our clients this week.
I cannot begin to stress to you that if you are interested in setting a up a Special Needs Trust for your loved one that you find a trust and estates attorney who knows the rules for drafting Special Needs Trusts. General trust and estates attorneys often do not understand the wording requirements. However, trust and estates attorney who handle elder law issues and Medi-Cal/Medicaid planning keep abreast of the required Special Needs Trust language. It is not unusual for us to see a Special Needs Trust fail because of improper wording. When hiring a trust and estate attorney to draft a Special Needs Trust ask the following questions:
1. How many years have you been drafting Special Needs Trusts?
2. How many Special Needs Trusts do you draft a year?
3. Do you keep abreast of the language requirements and changing laws when it comes to Special Needs Trusts?
4. Have you drafted Special Needs Trusts in order to help a person qualify for SSI?
Protecting the assets of a person with special needs requires a lot of forethought and planning. Make sure you find the proper expert to assist you with the complicated journey. While we are not an estate planning firm, we would be happy to give you the name of trust and estate attorneys who are known for serving the special needs community.
Got a
question about SSDI or SSI that you need us to answer? Please check out our
website at www.westcoastdisability.com . We try to provide you with helpful information on our
website that will allow you to successfully navigate the Social Security
Disability process. Also, feel free to email me your questions at megan@westcoastdisability.com or call me at (800) 459-3017 x 101.
