A special needs trust is a legal device that can be used to enhance the quality of life of a beneficiary who is challenged by a disability.
Many people with special needs are enrolled in government benefit programs like Medicaid and Supplemental Security Income (SSI). You cannot maintain your eligibility for these need-based programs if your financial status significantly improves.
A special needs trust can provide a solution. If a special needs trust is established for the benefit of a Medicaid/SSI recipient, the trustee could use assets in the trust for certain approved purposes. The beneficiary would be more comfortable, but ongoing eligibility for Medicaid and SSI would not be impacted.
If you have someone with special needs in your family, you could create and fund a third party special needs trust for the benefit of your loved one. However, if the person in question was to receive a personal injury settlement, a self-settled or first party special needs trust could be created with these assets, and government benefit eligibility would remain intact throughout the beneficiary’s life.
The bad news is that the Medicaid program would be required to seek recovery from the estate of the beneficiary after his or her passing. As a result, any assets that remain in the first party special needs trust would be absorbed by the Medicaid program.
This is not the case when a third party special needs trust is established. Under these circumstances, there are no recovery efforts.
Free Report on Special Needs Planning
As you can imagine, rules that govern eligibility for need-based government benefits are rather complicated. There is a great deal to absorb if you want to preserve benefit eligibility, and you should have a thorough understanding of the facts before you make any decisions.
We have scratched the surface in this blog post, but you can obtain more detailed information about special needs planning through this website. Our firm has prepared a comprehensive report on special needs trusts and government benefit rules and regulations. This report will answer most of your questions, and it is free, so there are no risks involved.
To obtain your copy of the report, visit this page and follow the simple instructions: Indianapolis IN Special Needs Planning.
Schedule a Personal Consultation
After you read the report, you may decide that you would like to take direct action. Our firm would be glad to assist you if you would like to discuss special needs planning with a licensed professional.
We provide personalized attention, and we do everything possible to make our clients feel totally comfortable, because we know that it can be difficult to open up about personal matters. To set up an appointment, send us a message through our contact page: Indianapolis IN Estate Planning Attorneys.
Mr. Kraft assists clients primarily in the areas of estate planning and administration, Medicaid planning, federal and state taxation, real estate and corporate law, bringing the added perspective of an accounting background to his work.
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