Supplemental And Special Needs Trust Attorney In Eden Prairie, Minnesota

Families’ desires to secure future income for a loved one with a disability must be weighed against the potential risk of disqualifying them from important public benefits. Understanding all the complexities involved calls for personal, compassion-oriented relationships.

What Is A Special Needs Trust?

A special needs trust, also called a supplemental needs trust, is a type of trust that provides funds to an individual with a physical or mental disability while supplementing the governmental aid they receive. The trust will provide long-term security for the individual by supplementing long-term care costs without disqualifying them from certain government benefits.

Benefits For Individuals With Disabilities

A special needs trust provides funds to cover expenses that public assistance does not. Trust distributions can improve the beneficiary’s quality of life by funding dental care, rehabilitation, specialized medical equipment, education, therapy, hobbies, transportation and personal care services.

Protecting Government Benefits

It is a common situation for persons with disabilities to utilize needs-based public benefits, like Supplemental Security Income (SSI) and Medicaid. Since the asset limitations for these programs are not very flexible, someone who receives an inheritance or a cash gift could disqualify themselves from benefits if the funds are not protected.

A properly drafted irrevocable special needs trust protects eligibility because distributions are kept under the trustee’s sole discretion and cannot be demanded by the beneficiary, thereby rendering the trust principal an unavailable asset for public benefit calculations.

Types Of Special Needs Trusts

Depending on the source of the funding, there are two primary types of trusts:

• First-party trusts: These are trusts that are composed of the funds of a person with disabilities younger than age 65 who is the beneficiary and has the payback clause to the state for benefits that the state has paid under medical assistance (Medicaid) for the beneficiary at the time of the beneficiary’s death, up to the dollar amount of the funds paid by the state.
• Third-party trusts: These accounts can be initiated and funded by individual family members and significant friends on behalf of the resident and are not subject to state reimbursement; any remaining balance can be left to family members as you see fit.

Attorney Andy helps families in Eden Prairie and the surrounding West Metro area – including Bloomington, Minnetonka, Hopkins, St. Louis Park, Golden Valley and Plymouth – establish specialized legal protections to secure a stable future for their relatives with disabilities.

Speak With An Attorney Today

Ensuring a safe, comfortable future for someone you care about who has special needs has to start with individually tailored, forward-thinking estate planning. Call Andy Gregory Law, PLLC, at 612-778-0759 or use the online contact form to set up an initial meeting.