Your estate planning attorney can help you draft a special needs trust for the benefit of your special needs child or other family member. After you select a trusted individual that will serve as your trustee, you need to make sure your special needs trust complies with New York State law.

Your attorney must make sure that the trustee will use your assets within your special needs trust only for a limited purpose. Because you may not want your special needs trust property to pay for necessary items that Supplemental Security Income (“SSI”) should cover, you can give your trustee specific powers to use the money for other incidental expenses. Your attorney will most likely designate your special needs or supplemental needs trust as an “irrevocable special needs trust for the benefit of X.” Pursuant to New York law, your attorney should also insert additional language in your trust document to make sure that your estate assets are used only for limited purposes without regard to other expenses or individuals. You must also go over which property to place in your special needs trust.

A special needs trust may help your estate avoid unnecessary property dissipation, legal fees and administration expenses. Because many New Yorkers are unaware of how to create a special needs trust, they may simply bequeath their property to others with the expectation that they will use your bequest to help your loved family members afford their special care to address their medical and financial needs. Often, this plan may not turn out to be the best long-term option. If you do not set up a special needs trust but bequeath your property to others with the hopes that they may take care of your children or other loved ones with special needs, you may be subject to unnecessary income taxes, subject to an equitable property distribution by divorce or subject to claims filed by creditors during bankruptcy. Additionally, they may not be required legally to assist your special needs child.

The Law Office of Michael Robinson, P.C. is a member of the American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys.

Why would you want to draft a special needs trust for your disabled child? By creating a special needs trust or supplemental needs trust, you may be able to ensure that your dependent child or family member is able to avoid becoming inadvertently disqualified from receiving financial support from the state and federal governments. In other words, by creating a special needs trust, you can help your special needs child or family member continue receiving monetary and medical government benefits without regard to legal monetary qualification and income limits.

Specifically, the Social Security Administration administers the federal Social Security Act of 1935. This act allows your loved ones with special needs to apply for Social Security disability benefits in limited circumstances. Generally, the Social Security Administration limits provide those with permanent and serious disabilities monthly financial benefits for necessities, including shelter and clothing, separate health insurance benefits and food stamps upon a showing of financial and medical need during the application process. Supplemental Security Income or “SSI” helps those with limited incomes and insufficient work credits who are able to prove the existence of a long-term disability, those who are permanently blind, and those who are age 65 or older.

To qualify for SSI, your special needs child or other family member must have a limited income and limited assets. Typically, the administration limits assets to $2,000, but excludes a primary residence and a vehicle for work or medical reasons.  Because your estate assets may count toward the income threshold if you bequeathed it (gave it) to your special needs child, you may want to avoid unintentionally disqualifying your child from receiving governmental assistance. You can do this by asking your probate attorney to help you draft a special needs trust or supplemental needs trust to benefit your child without disqualifying him from receiving federal SSI benefits.

The Law Office of Michael Robinson, P.C. is a member of the American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys.

Special needs planning is often a part of a parent or other family member’s estate planning considerations. To ensure that you make adequate financial arrangements through proper estate planning to protect your loved ones with special needs, you may need to draft special estate planning documents. Because of the legal nuances involved in estate planning, setting up a time to discuss your estate plans with our office may be a wise investment.

Setting up a special needs trust may be necessary for your special needs planning. If you are a parent of a child with special needs, including a child with a physical or mental disability requiring long-term care, you may want to consider setting up a special needs trust. You can also establish a special needs trust if you are a sibling, guardian or any other family member with concerns regarding the financial well-being of your ward or family member with special needs.

Many lawyers and judges refer to a “special needs trust” as a “supplemental needs trust.” Regardless of the terminology used, a special needs trust allows you to appoint someone to safeguard your estate assets for the financial well-being and benefit of your special needs child if you are no longer able to take care of him due to mental incapacity or death. You will need to select a trusted individual to serve as the trustee of your special needs or supplemental needs trust and make sure that you discuss your concerns and your child’s needs, including the suitability of your chosen trustee with your estate planning attorney. Your estate planning attorney should review your individual circumstances and your financial expectations regarding your special needs trust documents.

The Law Office of Michael Robinson, P.C. is a member of the American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys.

Although many of the benefits that are available for disabled veterans are for those that sustained service-related injuries that led to a disability, there are benefits available for veterans with non-service related disabilities. One of those programs that are available for veterans with non-service related disabilities is the Aid and Attendance Benefit Program.

The Aid and Attendance Benefit Program is for those that are disabled, but wish to remain in their own home. In many cases, the amount of financial assistance that a veteran can get through this program is enough to supplement their income so that they do not have to enter a nursing facility.

Though this program may not provide enough assistance to pay for a full time in home health aid, it can help with living expenses so that a spouse or other relative can remain at home and care for the disabled veteran. It is also possible for this program to pay for a part-time health aid for the home, or for adult day care.

To qualify for the Aid and Attendance Benefit Program, the veteran must have served at least 90 days in the service, and at least one of those days must have been during wartime. The veteran does not need to have served in combat in order to qualify for this program.

Additional qualifications include: an honorable discharge, plus the veteran must be at least 65 years old, or disabled. The medical expenses of the veteran must be those that qualify for reimbursement from the program. Furthermore, there are some income limits, but with the Aid and Attendance Benefit Program, there are no rules that regulate the transferring of assets out of the veteran’s name.

The amount of financial assistance available to help pay for expenses depends on the determined need of the veteran and their spouse, but it currently cannot exceed $1,949 per month. For this reason, when applying for these benefits, it is important that you include all necessary expenses, including medical and living expenses, as it will be these expenses, along with income that determines benefit amount.

The Law Office of Michael Robinson, P.C. is a member of the American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys.

Did you know that April is Autism Awareness Month?  While awareness of Autism and its challenges continues to increase, we need to also take a moment to focus on the estate planning challenges the families of those with Autism are facing.

A special needs trust is a powerful estate planning tool for a family with an Autistic child.  Funds are held by a trust and managed and distributed by a Trustee for the child’s needs without disrupting the public benefits they may require.  But the Trustee needs to be well versed in the rules and regulations surrounding these benefits.

For instance, if a beneficiary of a special needs trust is also receiving SSI (Supplemental Security Income) benefits then the Trustee must be very careful to not make any distributions that would jeopardize the beneficiary’s SSI eligibility.  The Trustee must not make distributions to the beneficiary for “food” or “shelter.” Benefits may be put at risk.  Although food is allowed under certain circumstances, such as food provided during a “medical confinement” – it’s important to know what expenditures can be problematic.

There could also be SSI eligibility problems if the Trustee uses trust funds to pay for expenses relating to “shelter” such as rent, heating fuel, electricity, water, and garbage collection services.  But don’t confuse “shelter costs” with “home ownership,” as it is normally allowable for a special needs trust to own a home in which the SSI beneficiary lives.

If you have a loved one with special needs such as Autism, work with a knowledgeable trust attorney to create a special needs trust. Such an attorney may explain the terms and conditions of a trust and the impact on benefits.

The Law Office of Michael Robinson, P.C. is a member of the American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys.

A Supplemental Needs Trust, also known as a Special Needs Trust, is an estate planning tool used to allow assets to be held in Trust for the benefit of a physically or mentally challenged individual, or a person with a chronic or acquired illness. This type of Trust allows supplemental and extra care over and above any benefits provided by the government.

Why would someone creating an estate plan choose to use a Supplemental Needs Trust rather than simply leaving them money? Assets of an individual are reviewed to qualify a person for government benefits, such as Medicaid, subsidized housing and other need based benefits. Should money or another asset be given to a person with special needs, it could disqualify them from receiving benefits. In fact, receiving as little as $2,000 could disrupt a person’s need-based benefits.

To deal with this Catch 22, in 1993, Congress authorized the use of Supplemental Needs Trusts to benefit individuals under the age of 65 who are disabled according to Social Security guidelines. Many types of assets are permitted to be held in this Trust, including stocks, bonds, cash, certificates of deposit or real estate.

While the government benefits can be used for basic living and medical expenses, the trust is able to pay for additional expenses, such as entertainment needs, vacations, uncovered medical expenses or social events.

A Supplemental Needs Trusts is an estate planning tool that should be investigated by any family with a physically or mentally challenged or chronically ill family member. If you live within the state of New York, consult a New York attorney with estate planning experience, as trusts are complex, state-specific documents that should be tailored to the needs and circumstances of the individuals involved.

The Law Office of Michael Robinson, P.C. is a member of the American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys.