Estate planning is important for every adult, but if you have a family member with a disability or special needs, planning is especially critical. Depending on the nature and severity of your loved one’s disability, they may be unable to become self-supporting, and are likely to depend on means-tested government benefits. Inheriting assets—or inheriting them in the wrong way—can jeopardize a disabled person’s eligibility for benefits. What was intended to provide financial security for the disabled person can end up creating insecurity and financial problems instead.
Fortunately, it is possible to leave an inheritance for a disabled loved one while still allowing them to remain eligible for the benefits they need to survive and thrive. The special needs planning attorneys of Beaton & Kiers will help you create an estate plan to ensure the well-being of your loved one even when you are no longer available to see to their care. Contact Beaton & Kiers to begin the planning process and get peace of mind about your family member’s future.
Every individual’s situation is unique, and depending on the circumstances, there are different measures you might choose to put in place for your loved one. Some of the most common planning tools, such as wills and revocable living trusts, are not enough to protect their interests. You may need to rely on less familiar tools, such as:
Special needs trusts, also known as supplemental needs trusts, are designed to hold funds for the use of a disabled individual without affecting their eligibility for government benefits. These trusts are structured so that assets they contain are not counted as personal assets of the beneficiary for purposes of determining eligibility for benefits like Medicaid and Supplemental Security Income (SSI).
There are two types of special needs trusts. First-party special needs trusts are those in which the disabled individual’s own assets are used to fund the trust. An example might be an individual who received a financial settlement for an accident that caused a disabling injury; their own funds from the settlement could fund the trust. A third-party special needs trust is funded with assets from someone other than the disabled individual. An example would be a trust established for a child with severe cerebral palsy with funds from the parents and grandparents.
ABLE accounts are named after the “Achieving a Better Life Experience” Act which authorized their creation. ABLE accounts are tax-advantaged savings accounts for people with special needs and their families. The accounts can accumulate funds to be used for “qualified disability expenses” without causing the beneficiary to fail the means test for their government benefits. ABLE accounts are available only to individuals whose disability occurred before they turned 26 years old.
Special needs trusts and ABLE accounts are two of the primary ways to plan for the financial security of a loved one with disabilities, but there are lots of things to take into account when planning. A special needs planning attorney can help you consider other important aspects of securing your loved one’s future, such as Medicaid planning or establishing a guardianship and conservatorship for a child with special needs when they reach legal adulthood.
Amy Beaton and Larissa Kiers are not only special needs planning attorneys; they are parents too. They are committed to providing the same attentive service and customized planning for your family as they would want for their own.
Planning for the future of a loved one with special needs can feel overwhelming, but the first step—reaching out to an attorney—is the only one you have to take alone. Contact Beaton & Kiers to schedule a consultation to plan for your family member, and get the advice and support you need at every step of the process.
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