Experienced Attorneys To Navigate Complex Laws To Safeguard Special Needs Individuals and Securing Their Welfare
Protecting Our Most Vulnerable Through Treacherous Legal Waters
Special Needs Planning is a complex area of law. Our trust and estates attorneys understand the challenges and rewards of parenting a special needs child. As such, our attorneys can assist parents with comprehensive planning, mindful of the special needs child’s future needs and resources. Our attorneys are invested not only in the success of the planning strategies but more importantly we are invested in the success of the special needs beneficiary. With this in mind, we can develop plans that allow the trustee maximum flexibility to meet the beneficiary’s needs while maintaining the beneficiary’s standard of living and eligibility for public government benefits. Those benefits may include SSI, Medicaid, Section 8 Housing, and other federal or state sponsored assistance programs based on financial need. Our trusts and estates attorneys have extensive experience assisting parents with proactive planning to benefit their special needs child.
Additionally, when a special needs person who is disabled (as defined by Social Security) has received an inheritance, gift, bequest, lawsuit award or settlement, child support, alimony or divorce property settlement, the person’s receipt of these assets may result in the disqualification of need based government benefits such as SSI, Medicaid, and Section 8 housing. In order to preserve these government benefits, the person’s disqualifying assets should be converted into exempt assets or be transferred to either an irrevocable “Medicaid Payback Trust” or a “Community Pooled Account Trust”. We can advise you on what options are available to the special needs person in this situation and help you implement the appropriate strategies.
