Lynnwood, Bellevue, and Seattle-Area Special Needs Trust and Disability Benefits Planning Attorneys
A typical estate plan will distribute your property to surviving loved ones and favorite charities. If your children are adults, you may choose to leave funds to them outright. If they are minor children, their funds may go into a trust with payouts at specified ages.
What if your child, spouse, parent, or other beneficiary suffers from a severe mental or physical disability? What if the loved one is chronically ill and cannot manage his or her affairs?
Providing for Your Disabled or Chronically Ill Child, Spouse, Parent, or Other Beneficiary
People with disabilities are not eligible for certain government assistance programs, such as Medicaid and Supplemental Security Income (SSI), if they own assets or have income above certain limits. Someone who is receiving benefits, who then receives an inheritance, may lose his or her eligibility. That inheritance would then be the sole source for paying for health care and living assistance until the fund is exhausted. At that point, government assistance would again pay for the needed care.
Parents, a spouse or other persons can provide for their loved ones by including a special needs trust in their will. Unlike a standard trust, which can be considered the property of the disabled person, Social Security and Medicaid do not consider a disabled person to be the owner of a properly drafted special needs trust. Thus, the special needs trust can provide for added treatment and comforts during the life of the disabled loved one, yet that loved one remains eligible for government benefits and assistance.
There are also special needs trust planning options available to disabled persons themselves if they have funds of their own or expect to, say from an inheritance or personal injury settlement or award. Instead of being required to spend the funds down, a special needs trust (with a Medicaid payback provision) can be turned to which can preserve the transferred funds for the disabled person's benefit.
The laws governing special needs trusts and their relationship to public benefit regulations are varied and complex, and you may need the assistance of an attorney with experience in this area. At Hickman Menashe, P.S., we provide:
- Education regarding special needs trusts
- Assessment of public benefits currently received and assets to be transferred into the special needs trust
- Outline of steps necessary to establish the special needs trust, drafting of appropriate documents, and help with the transfer of assets to the special needs trust
- Assistance in the administration of the special needs trust
Contact us and arrange an appointment to discuss establishing a trust for yourself or for your loved one with a special need.
Hickman Menashe, P.S.Phone: 425-744-5658 | Fax: 425-744-6078 | |
Main Office:4211 Alderwood Mall Boulevard | Satellite Office: |
The law firm of Hickman Menashe, P.S., provides representation with regard to estate and incapacity planning, long-term care and Medicaid planning, special needs trusts, probate and estate administration, and guardianships and trust administration. We serve clients from Snohomish, King, and Skagit counties and elsewhere from across Washington from a main office in Lynnwood, which is close to Seattle, Shoreline, Lake Stevens, Edmonds, Bothell, Mill Creek, Everett, Monroe, Snohomish, and Marysville, and a satellite office in Bellevue, which is close to Mercer Island, Kirkland, Redmond, Woodinville, Renton, and Tukwila. | |