Planning for Children & Adults with Disabilities & Special Needs
Individuals with disabilities often have “special needs.” We can help individuals and families with loved ones who have disabilities in a variety of ways. We can share our knowledge and experience and connect you with organizations, associations and entities which provide benefits and support. We can provide information about the legal requirements for eligibility for entitlement to receive public benefits, such as social security disability, supplemental security income, Medicare, Medicaid, and other government and community funded benefits. We can help design and implement “special needs” plans for you or your loved ones and put together a team of advisors to answer questions and help guide you through the challenges with which you are confronted.
Has a disabled individual inherited sums of money which would disqualify or interrupt the continuation of public benefits? We can advise that individual or trusted family members about circumstances where the creation of a first-party funded special needs trust or the use of a “pooled” trust can achieve or preserve eligibility for public benefits while at the same time allowing the inheritance to be used for all other “special needs” of the individual. We can also help individuals either achieve or maintain public benefit eligibility when they have settled a personal injury lawsuit and will be receiving settlement funds which would otherwise disqualify or interrupt the continuation of the benefits.
We can help you and your family plan for the transfer of money and assets upon death for the benefit of a disabled loved one, frequently through the use of either inter-vivos or testamentary third-party funded supplemental needs trust, or again by use of “pooled” trusts.
Our goal is to be both a practical and legal resource for our clients with “special needs” so that we can achieve the best and highest possible quality of life for those individuals.
Mr. Brown is a charter member of the Academy of Special Needs Planners.
