Special Needs Trusts
Posted on Jun 30, 2017 12:25pm PDT

Have you considered the importance of a special needs trust? A special
needs trust is an effective legal tool to preserve assets for a loved
one and maintain eligibility for certain government benefits. Today, the
cost of health insurance and medical care seem to be rising faster than
any other expenses. At the same time, as our lives have become more sophisticated
there seems to be an increase of situations where a loved one has special
physical, mental and/or medical needs. In the fast paced world we live
in there is usually little, if any, warning of these kinds of challenges.
With the high cost of living today and the need for both parents to work,
the average American family often cannot afford the costs of the special
or professional care that is required for a family member with special
needs to be properly cared for, whether it is in the home or in an assisted
living or nursing care facility.
There are joint federal and state government programs that provide various
types of public benefits for low income and low net worth individuals
who are disabled, blind or elderly, such as Supplemental Security Income
(SSI), Medicaid, Subsidized Housing (Section 8) and Temporary Assistance
for Needy Families (TANF) and some state vocational rehabilitation services.
However, the services provided by these programs are limited, and they
are specifically designed to provide a base level of care and subsistence,
which often is not adequate to provide the resources necessary for quality
of life expenditures.
Fortunately, there are legal strategies to help provide a special needs
family member with the resources to supplement the public benefit programs
without risking a termination of the public benefits, by the use of
SPECIAL NEEDS TRUSTS and
SUPPLEMENTAL NEEDS TRUSTS. Unfortunately, there is no One Size Fits All Special or Supplement Needs
Trust. Just as the care needs and public benefit programs are often different
from one special needs person to another, the design and implementation
of a Special or Supplement Needs Trust is, more often than not, different
from person to person. Care must be taken not to cause the termination
of the public benefit programs which may require approval of the Trust
by the appropriate public benefits office.
If you have questions about special needs trusts, please do not hesitate
to contact the Finkel Law Firm.