A Special Child Needs a Special Plan
The key to a successful Special Needs Estate Plan is beginning with a solid Estate Plan, so that’s where we start. We follow the same well defined process to design a solid core estate plan as we do in our typical estate planning cases. For a special needs family, it doesn’t end there. Because most special needs beneficiaries will need government benefits to help pay for their care at some point during their lives, we use our extensive knowledge of the Medicaid system to craft special trusts called Supplemental Needs Trusts. These special trusts are created in such a way that they can preserve a beneficiary’s eligibility for Medicaid or SSI while providing them a continuing financial benefit from the assets of the trust. Without a trust like this, even a small inheritance can force a special needs beneficiary to lose access to important government benefits they need to help pay for medical care. A failure to plan is indeed a plan to fail for a special needs beneficiary.