Special Needs Trusts

Guidance For Trustees of Special Needs Trusts

April 10, 2013

If you have been named as the trustee of a special needs trust, you likely have many questions about how to administer the trust. You can get many of the answers you need in the Special Needs Alliance Guidebook for Special Needs Trustee. This excellent guide provides definitions of unfamiliar words, distinguishes self-settled special needs [...]

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Should I Disinherit My Disabled
Child to Protect His Benefits?

April 3, 2013

Parents whose children are receiving government benefits, such as SSI and Medicaid, know that those benefits are means-tested. Those with countable assets greater than $2,000 can lose their eligibility to receive SSI and Medicaid. So they worry about leaving an inheritance to a child who may be receiving these benefits. To avoid disqualifying their children [...]

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Will a Uniform Transfers to Minors Account Negatively Impact My Child With Special Needs?

November 14, 2012

Uniform Transfers to Minors Accouts (UTMA) accounts are an easy and inexpensive way for parents, grandparents and other well meaning individuals to make irrevocable gifts to minors without the expense of creating a formal trust. They are easily established by opening the account in the custodian’s name “as custodian for [name of minor] under the [...]

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Writing a Letter of Intent for Child With Special Needs

April 4, 2011

Every parent worries about whether their children will be well cared for if tragedy strikes. But the worries are compounded for parents of children with special needs who lack the capacity to communicate their needs to caregivers. As a parent of a special needs child, you know their needs and desires, likes and dislikes and [...]

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What Supplemental Expenses Can Special Needs Trusts Pay For?

November 15, 2010

Unlike a support trust which direct that funds be used for the health, welfare, and support of a beneficiary, a Special Needs Trust (SNT) is a discretionary trust created to supplement the beneficiary’s basic needs. By being structured in this way, the trust both preserves the public benefits available to a beneficiary and enhances the [...]

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Special Needs Trusts FAQs

October 11, 2010

If you are a parent of a child with special needs, you need special estate planning. Why? Because if you leave assets directly to your special needs child, either in a will or through the intestacy statutes if you die without a will, the inheritance your child receives can jeopardize his or her ability to [...]

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