Articles – Special Needs Trusts « Special Needs Trusts

Articles About Special Needs Trusts

• An Estate Plan Built for Special Needs (Wall Street Journal)
  Patti's Comment:  This is a great summary of what we spend every day doing and it was written with input from some of our friends.
• Decambre V. Brookline Housing Authority: Special Needs Trust Distributions Not Income for Section 8 Purposes
  On June 14th,  the First Circuit in the seminal (and very local) case DeCambre v. Brookline Housing Authority, reversed the decision of the lower court, and held that distributions of principal from a special needs trust are NOT counted as income for purposes of Section 8 calculations.
• Divorces with Disabled Spouses or Children: How a Special Needs Trust Can Help! (Kelsey & Trask blog – 3/22/12)
  In a recent case, in which Kelsey & Trask and I share a client, a severely disabled woman in her late 30s, required a Personal Care Attendant through MassHealth to remain in her home. I created a SNT for her, and Attorney Kelsey obtained a Court order for the alimony to be paid directly into the SNT. To our surprise, MassHealth then rejected the procedure.
• Estate Planning for a Family with a Special Needs Child 
  Parents who have children who are minors or young adults have particular estate planning concerns that should be carefully considered. One concern is how to provide funds for the children if one or both parents die. 
• Estate planning for special needs (Fidelity – 11/2/16)
  Strategies to help ensure that your estate plan will support dependents with special needs.
• Estate Planning: The Advantages of a Stand-Alone Special Needs Trust (Lake County News – 2/25/12)
  Most people who have heard about special needs trusts are familiar only about the Testamentary Special Needs Trust. Testamentary trusts are established at the death of the person establishing the trust pursuant to his trust or will. Stand-alone Special Needs Trusts, however, are established while the benefactor is alive. Let us compare these two trusts.
• Financial Concerns (Williams Syndrome.org)
  As the parent of a child with disabilities, one of your concerns will be to provide for the future for your child. It is important to make sure that all assets are kept out of your disabled child's name (including assets left in a will) so they can maintain financial eligibility for Medicaid and SSI. Currently, assets of just $2000 in your child's name will make them ineligible for SSI.
• Financially Preparing for Special-Needs Kids (Elder Law Attorney – 10/20/08)
  A good, simple overview of planning for a child with disabilities.
• Funding a Special Needs Trust: How Much is Enough? (Academy of Special Needs Planners – 2/1/16)
  As a parent or guardian, you want to ensure that your child with special needs will remain financially secure even when you are no longer there to provide support.  
• Funding Strategies for Special Needs Trusts (Advisor – Perspectives – 4/29/2020)
  When parents start the planning process for a child with special needs, they usually work under the perception that if they create a special needs trust (SNT), the child will be taken care of and the needs will be met. Unfortunately, creating a trust does not ensure that. Funding the trust is just as important as creating it. In addition, parents always have to be mindful of the stability and security of their own financial planning in the entire process of funding the SNT.
• Her Credo: Help, But First Do No Harm (American Banker – 3/1/12)
  Mary Anne Ehlert, a seasoned financial adviser, grew up with a sister who suffered from severe cerebral palsy. She not only helped out with the day-to-day care needs, but also came to understand how disabled people like her sister might be put in precarious financial situations because of bad planning.
• How a "Sole Benefit Trust" Can Either Hurt or Help a Person with Special Needs (Special Needs Answers – 10/23/09)
  When helping older clients quickly qualify for Medicaid coverage of long-term care, elder law attorneys often ask right at the outset, "Do you have a relative with special needs?" The reason this question is so important is because under federal Medicaid law, someone applying for Medicaid long-term care (nursing home) benefits can transfer her assets into a special needs trust for the "sole benefit" of a person with disabilities, and that transfer will not disqualify the Medicaid applicant from receiving benefits. In other words, a senior who is willing to give away her assets to a person with special needs, and who meets all the other Medicaid eligibility requirements, can almost always qualify for Medicaid quickly.  
• How to Plan Ahead for a Disabled Child’s Inheritance (Kiplinger)
  If your child relies on Medicaid services, how can you ensure that when you die the money you leave them doesn't cause them to lose that vital support system? A Supplemental Needs Trust could be the answer.
• How to Plan for the Future of Your Special Needs Child (Margolis & Bloom)
  An estimated 10 million American children—one of seven—have special needs. Parents of these special-needs children often cope heroically while caring for them. But these parents also face another daunting challenge: Ensuring that after they die, their children will continue getting the care and support they require.
• Knowing a Little About How Special Needs Trusts are Taxed Can be Helpful (Joseph Hoffmann)
  Having a little working knowledge about how Trusts are taxed can help you with planning for your special needs person. It will also help you to work more effectively with your accountant, lawyer and trustees.
• Making Sure the Kids Are All Right (Wall Street Journal – 3-14-11)
  For parents of children with special needs, keeping up with the day-to-day care is challenging enough. Planning for the child's financial future is sometimes too much to contemplate. But, say financial advisers, proper planning can be the difference between children becoming homeless or thriving once their parents are gone. As daunting as such planning is, they say, it has to be done.   
• Making Trusts for Special Needs Children (Forbes – 9/10/2020)
  The most commonly used tool to protect and care for special needs children after a parents death is a Special Needs Trust.
• Next Steps: Children can help mom best with advice of a lawyer (Post-Gazette – 11/25/08)
  A good summary of Medicaid planning and the use of special needs trusts.
• Okeechobee dad John Morgan accused of stealing over $40,000 from daughter's Special Needs Trust Fund (2/7/12)
  An Okeechobee man is accused of stealing over $40,000 from his daughter's special needs trust fund to purchase a vehicle and pay his personal bills. John Morgan, 34, was charged with second degree grand theft after investigators from the Florida Department of Children and Families (DCF) said he slowly took money out of an account meant to cover dental work and the needs of his daughter who suffers from cerebral palsy.
• Planning for IRA Beneficiaries with Disabilities (Oast & Hook Elder Law News – June 2007)
  An owner of an IRA needs to be aware of the importance of careful planning when an IRA beneficiary has a disability .
• Protecting Assets for a Child With a Disability
  Excerpt from American Bar Association – Bifocal (March-April 2012 newsletter)
  Estate planning and lifetime planning for parents of a child with a disability present special challenges. The goals of the parents are to utilize their assetes in such a way as to enrich their child's life while at the same time preserving the child's public benefits.
• Planning for the Long Haul (Disability Scoop)
  Attorney Diedre Braverman answers questions about guardianship, when and how to set up a special needs trust and who to involve.
• Qualified Disability Trusts Can Offer Tax Savings (Special Needs Answers – 4/12/10)
  As tax season comes to a close, donors and trustees should be aware that in certain circumstances, a third-party special needs trust may be treated as a "qualified disability trust" for purposes of income taxation. Why should you care? Because a qualified disability trust is allowed to take a much higher personal exemption than a regular trust, resulting in lower income taxes for the trust.
• Special Needs Families – Planning Can Be Complicated (May 2010)
  While a firm foundation in financial planning is crucial for all families, it’s all the more critical to a family with a special-needs child. For families with a special-needs child, it's crucial to make plans to provide for the child after your death.  
• Special Needs Trusts: A Cost-Benefit Analysis (Begley Law Group)
  In dealing with clients with disabilities, many professionals are quick to jump to the conclusion that if the client is receiving money it must be deposited into a Special Needs Trust. Before making this decision, it is useful to make an analysis as to the advantages and disadvantages of the Special Needs Trust as well as other options that might be available to the client with disabilities.
• Special Needs Trusts: A Planning Tool with Promise (Findlaw.com)
  In August, 1993, Congress made significant changes to the trust rules in the OBRA 93 legislation. As a result, current law specifically provides for several types of trusts that are approved by the government for use by individuals who either presently are, or expect in the future to become, eligible for SSI or Medicaid benefits.
• Special Needs Trust: Avoiding a Malpractice Trap (VA Lawyers Weekly – 3/16/09)
  Personal injury lawyers are cautioned against dabbling in the field when they get a settlement or judgment that could jeopardize benefits for a client. They could be doing more harm than good with their personal injury recovery, the experts say.
• Special Needs Trusts Can Provide for Disabled Children (Post-Gazette – 8/18/09)
  After eagerly anticipating the birth of their first child seven years ago, Shawn and Sharon Widenhofer found themselves embarking on a parental journey they had not planned for when they learned their daughter, Sarah, had been born with Down syndrome.
• Special Needs Trust: How to Ensure the Care of Your Disabled Child (Health.com)
  Initiate the trust as soon as you determine that your child may not be capable of supporting himself. If your child's development improves and he is able to earn a living, great—the trust can always be dissolved and the funds returned to you or given to the child. Special-needs trusts are complicated animals, however, and rules vary from state to state.
• Special Needs Trusts: How to Keep Your Win From Becoming Your Client's Loss (Kevin Urbatsch)
  Avoiding great hardship for a client who receives certain public benefits requires careful planning.
• Special Needs Trusts: The Basics Every Lawyer Should Know (Michigan Law Center)
  Attorneys do not need to become special needs planner in addition to what they already do, but they do need to know some simple basics regarding the effect their client’s settlement may have on their eligibility for governmental benefits. Lawyers have been held liable for failing to recognize and advise their clients of the effect the settlement may have on their eligibility.
• Taking Special Care With Inherited IRAs (2/21/12)
  As advances in medicine continue, it's become more likely that special needs children may outlive their parents. Yet many families remain unprepared. Two-thirds of parents with special needs children have not prepared wills. Poor planning can be costly.  
• The Fiduciary Pitfalls of Managing Special Needs Trusts That Own Real Estate (NAELA Journal – Spring 2017)  
  There are many reasons a trustee may hold real estate in a special needs trust (SNT), but there are also many pitfalls a trustee must be aware of to avoid liability and protect the interests of the trust beneficiary.
• The Top 10 Things that SNT Attorneys and Trustees Must Know About in the IEP, 504 Plan or IPP (Frank Johns – Stetson College of Law)
  Many SNTs have beneficiaries that are school age, with a majority of these beneficiaries in public school or residential environments. Schools and residential facilities must provide due process and individual planning for the beneficiaries. There are also mandates for transitioning into community or restricted placement for those beneficiaries beyond the age of majority and beyond school. Additionally, there are those older beneficiaries that have rights and protections in assisted living and more restricted environments.
• Think About a Special Needs Trust (Chadd Leadership Blog – 12/3/08)
  Ever think about how you will provide for your child with special needs once you are no longer around? Any family with a child who has significant special needs should consider establishing such a trust.
• Top Ten New Jersey Cases Involving Special Needs Trusts (Law Office of Donald Vanarelli Blog – 12/26/10)
  Here are my selections for the top ten New Jersey cases involving Special Needs Trusts / Disability Planning decided in 2009 and 2010. For those cases I previously blogged about,  a link to the blog post as well as the case is included below.
  Patti's Comment:  This is a great list of cases!
• Top 15 Tips for Estate Planners When Planning for Special Needs (Katherine N. Barr, Richard E. Davis, Kristen M. Lewis)
  The world of special needs planning has come of age. Once considered a narrow specialty that rarely demanded much of a traditional estate planner's time, understanding how to protect the eligibility of a client's child with a disability for publicly available programs, including health care, is now essential.
• Using Annuities for Long-Term Care Planning (Elder Law Weblog – 9/23/08)
  Insurance agents and financial institutions often advertise annuities as the perfect way to generate retirement income. While annuities can be a valuable retirement tool, if you are buying an annuity as part of a Medi-Cal planning strategy, you need to fully understand what you are getting.
• What Are the Responsibilities of an SNT Trustee? (Special Needs Answers – 8/2/11)
  The trustee of a special needs trust (SNT) has all of the duties of any trustee, plus specific added responsibilities due to the special needs of the beneficiary. This articles lists things that all trustees are responsible for and other important considerations.   
• What is a “qualified disability trust” for Federal income tax purposes?
  Congress in 2001, as part of the Patriot Act, added a small tax benefit for some disabled individuals who are the beneficiaries of special needs trusts. This provision, now §642(b)(2)(C) of the Internal Revenue Code, defines a “qualified disability trust” (QDisT) and gives the trust a deduction equal to the personal exemption.
• What is a Special Needs Trust? (Mason Law PC)
  A Special Needs Trust, also referred to as a Supplemental Needs Trust, is a trust specially designed to hold assets on behalf of a disabled individual in a manner that will benefit the individual without jeopardizing that individual’s SSI, Medicaid or other government benefits.
• What is a Special Needs Trust and How Could it Apply to You? (YouTube video)
  Basic info and examples from Shields and Boris law firm.
• What is a Supplemental Needs Trust? (Elder Law Answers)
  Special needs trusts (also known as "supplemental needs" trusts) allow a disabled beneficiary to receive gifts, lawsuit settlements, or other funds and yet not lose his or her eligibility for certain government programs. Such trusts are drafted so that the funds will not be considered to belong to the beneficiary in determining eligibility for public benefits.
• What is the Best Way to Fund a Special Needs Trust? (9/11/15)
  There is no “best way” to fund a special needs trust; however, there are several factors you should consider.
• When is a Trust a Special Needs Trust (Martindale.com – 8/23/10)
  "Special Needs Trust" (SNT, sometimes called a "supplemental needs trust") is a generic term for a trust designed to supplement the means-tested government benefits of a beneficiary with a disability. If you think that none of your clients or their adult children would ever need government benefits, think again. By maintaining eligibility for cash income and health insurance, a family may stretch its collective resources to care for the individual with disabilities over time.
  Patti's Comment: A simple description from my friend Janet in Ohio.
• Who Can Set Up a Special Needs Trust? (JD Supra)
  The answer depends on what type of Special Needs Trust – a Third Party Special Needs Trust or a First Party Trust. A third party trust, that is created to hold assets of another person for the benefit of the person with special needs, can be set up by anyone who is over the age of 18 and has the mental capacity to create such a trust. Typically, a parent or grandparent sets up a third party trust because they are usually the ones who are leaving assets to the person with special needs. However, with older couples, sometimes one spouse sets one up for the surviving spouse. In addition, a friend or other nonrelative may set up a third party special needs trust to be the recipient of gifts from other friends of the person with special needs.
• Why Plan for the Future? 
  The advantages and disadvantages of Trust are explored
• Writing a Memorandum of Intent for Your Child With Special Needs (Special Needs Answers)
  While creating a financial plan and establishing a specialized trust are central to preparing for your child's future, special needs planners also advise families to write down their intentions and expectations in a document referred to as a Memorandum of Intent, also known as a "Letter of Intent." This document can be used to describe your child's health care and therapeutic needs, identify lifestyle preferences and provide contact information for doctors, therapists and teachers. It also can be used to convey insights into your child's personality and history that future caregivers might not easily gain on their own.