About 61 million American adults suffer from a disability of some kind. If this describes a loved one who is dependent on you, it’s important to secure their needs and ensure that they are met even if something were to happen to you.
A special needs attorney can help you get your affairs in order. Here, we’re going to talk about how these professionals can help with financial planning, choosing a guardian, Medicaid eligibility, and more. Read on to learn more about these professionals and when you need to contact one.
What Is a Special Needs Attorney?
Special needs attorneys are lawyers who can help you plan for what will happen after you can no longer care for a loved one with special needs. If you are a caregiver for a child or other family member that has physical or mental disabilities, they will still need care after you pass away or can no longer care for them for any other reason.
This can be stressful since you will not be around to provide long-term care. However, you will still need to ensure that they have plans for medical care, housing, and education. You also will want to make sure that they remain eligible for government benefits like SSI and Medicaid.
That’s where special needs lawyers come in.
These professionals aim to create something called a special needs trust (SNT) for your dependant. You will outline what assets go to the beneficiary and how they should be managed. Special needs trusts do not count as income and therefore won’t limit eligibility for government assistance programs.
How Does a Special Needs Trust Work?
When you set up a special needs trust, you will need to select a designated trustee. This trustee will not be your disabled loved one.
It can be another family member or friend, but in many cases will also involve an SNT attorney. Involving an expert is the best choice because lawyers understand how these trusts work. They can help your disabled loved one to get the most out of the trust.
The attorney and your designated trustee will be responsible for the assets and ensuring that they go toward improving your disabled dependant’s quality of life.
The assets and money in an SNT will pay for items that government assistance cannot. Public programs can give disabled people groceries, basic health care, and prepaid cards that work to purchase basic needs. However, funds from a trust can purchase store-valued items, property, education, specialized/privatized physical therapy, home care, and other goods and services that the beneficiary might want or need.
What Else Goes in an SNT?
SNTs don’t just secure a financial future for those with special needs. They also designate a guardian for someone that cannot take care of themselves.
You will need to choose a guardian (and a backup guardian) for your disabled loved one. This guardian will often be the trustee for the SNT.
This party will make medical and life decisions if your loved one is unable to do so for themselves. They also will manage assets, sign paperwork and documents, and provide input about who should and should not be involved in the disabled party’s affairs.
It can be challenging to choose a guardian for your dependant, but it is important to consider all of their needs and make an informed choice. Family members or personal care professionals are ideal, though community-based homes are another popular choice.
SNTs also outline other aspects of what will happen to the disabled party after the death of their caregiver. Some things to include within the trust include:
- What personal care professionals the trustee can designate responsibilities to
- Assistive technology that your loved one requires
- How to orchestrate independent living arrangements (if applicable)
- Day programs that you would like your loved one to attend
- Long-term care facilities for those that need them
Before attempting to create a special needs trust, it’s critical that you talk to an experienced and reputable lawyer.
When Do You Need to Involve a Special Needs Attorney?
It’s important that you always involve a special needs attorney when setting up a special needs trust. Most people don’t know the ins and outs of SNTs and are unsure of how to set them up. An experienced professional can help you create a legally-binding trust easily.
We know how to set up a guardianship, designate a trustee, create a letter of intent, outline assets, and detail where you want assets and funds to go upon your death. We also can answer any questions that you have so you can feel secure in the fact that your disabled loved one will be well cared for after your passing.
There are many important reasons to contact a special needs attorney. Protecting finances, securing benefits, and keeping up-to-date with legal issues and documents are some of the best reasons to hire a special needs lawyer.
Protecting Funds
SNT attorneys can protect the funds that you intend to go to your disabled child or dependant. You do not want the money to be subject to taxation and other government-mandated expenses. You also do not want someone else to come and claim the money as their own upon your passing.
An attorney can help you create an ironclad contract to ensure that your loved one will get the funds that they need. They can watch over these assets and ensure that no one depletes them. This affords both you and your dependant peace of mind in both the short and long term.
Securing Benefits
One of the defining features of an SNT is that it’s made to protect those who need government benefits. Other methods of leaving behind an inheritance can cause the recipient to lose SSI benefits if they currently rely on them. You don’t want to fall into a legal gray area that leads to your disabled loved one losing Medicaid, Social Security, or SNAP.
A lawyer can help make sure that your trust is set up in such a way that your dependents will not lose these benefits. They can make sure that the disabled individual also has funds to cover other health-related costs and the costs of basic necessities.
Keeping Up to Date
Tax laws are constantly changing at both the federal and state levels. Special needs lawyers can help you make sure that your trust is always up to date with current legal requirements and regulations.
Attorneys can also update files and trust information if your dependant’s needs change. It’s a good idea to contact an attorney whenever something about the situation shifts. Whether it’s a new personal care provider or updated support needs, lawyers can help you seamlessly integrate new information into the trust documents.
Creating Your Trust the Right Way
Seamless execution is the main reason that involving an attorney early is critical. Lawyers know what must be included in an SNT and what makes trust-related documents binding. They know how to structure content in a legally-binding way and ensure that your trust looks exactly as you wish it to.
In addition to protecting assets and outlining guardianship, your trust will need to contain a letter of intent (LOI). This LOI will include facts like:
- The disabled individual’s daily schedule
- Social and religious needs for the disabled party
- A general life overview
- Medical care routines
- Therapy and psychiatry information
- Behavior management expectations
- Current government/public benefits programs received
- Past employment of the disabled individual
- Potential future employment opportunities/hopes that you have as the caregiver
- Food preferences and allergies
- Hopes for the future
- Burial management for your loved one
This requires a lot of technical knowledge and care. After all, an SNT is a legal document; you will need legal assistance to draft all aspects of it the right way. Discussing options with a special needs attorney is a good first step to creating an LOI that actually takes care of your loved one and appointing the right trustee to manage their affairs.
Get in Touch With a Special Needs Lawyer
Worrying about what a disabled loved one will do upon your passing can be stressful. Luckily, a special needs attorney can help you rest assured that your dependant will be taken care of. Now that you know when to talk to an attorney about setting up a special needs trust, it’s time to get started.
Smith Barid is committed to assisting clients with results-oriented processes that complete and deliver documents within just 1-2 months. Our organization has over 15 years of experience and our experts have the educational background to provide you with top-notch assistance. Get in touch to discuss creating an estate plan for your disabled loved one today.