How Does the Firm Assist in Special Needs Planning?
Taking care of a loved one with special needs requires more than just love and care; it demands meticulous planning for their future. Navigating the complexities of special needs planning can be challenging, but with a BKBH special needs trust lawyer by your side, you’re not alone.
We create robust strategies with goal of ensuring the lifelong well-being of special needs individuals to the extent possible, focused on providing maximum financial benefit without negatively affecting the rights of a special needs person to government benefits. Contact us today to begin crafting a future that caters to every unique requirement.
Taking Care of Special Needs Loved Ones
Increasingly, families are faced with the reality of caring for a special needs child, be it someone with Down’s Syndrome or an individual who has suffered a tragic accident. To address this, the creation of a Special Needs Trust becomes paramount. This trust serves as a reservoir of funds dedicated to enriching the life of the individual in question without negatively impacting government benefits. Often, as a testament to love and foresight, parents, grandparents, and sometimes other family members or friends can allocate directed toward the lifelong care of a special needs individual.
Drafting Special Needs Trusts – The Importance of Maintaining Government Benefits
As the parent of a special needs loved one, you undoubtedly will want to do everything possible to provide for the needs of your child after you pass. A common desire for the parents of a special needs child will be to simply give all of their assets to their special needs child and designate a person who will have the legal authority to manage these assets on behalf of the special needs child.
The problem with such an arrangement is that if not drafted correctly, the special needs child may be considered by the government to directly or indirectly own all of these assets. If this is the case, then such asset ownership will count against the special needs child when government benefit entitlement is considered. As a result, the special needs child may no longer be entitled to government benefits, or their benefits may be severely reduced.
With a proper special needs trust, the trust in essence acts to make available trust proceeds for the care of the special needs individual after government benefits are first paid. The ownership and provisions of the trust must carefully be drafted so that the trust assets are not “owned” by the special needs person, and so that they are not included when financial eligibility is considered.
Because of the complexity involved, a Montana special needs trust lawyer should always be consulted for drafting a special needs trust.
