Disability Planning Strategies for Clients Throughout North Central Florida
Families often rely on Medicaid, SSI and other government programs for meeting the significant cost of caring for a child or loved one with a disability. However, government assistance is generally limited to a bare minimum to cover only basic necessities. Many families elect to supplement government services with additional funds to provide for a higher level of care. However, upon the death of the benefactors (often the parents or grandparents), the supplemental money will stop unless special provisions are put in place to continue the support.
Special Needs Trusts
If you have a child or a loved one with special needs, whom you are supporting with money to pay for a higher level of services, a special needs trust may be an excellent option to continue financial support. Assets in a special needs trust may be used to provide the individual with a higher and more desirable standard of living.
Special needs trusts can be established as a living trust, to take effect during the lifetime of the person setting up the trust (settlor), or as a testamentary trust, set up as a provision of a person's will.
One benefit of a special needs trust is that other parties may fund the trust, often including grandparents, siblings and extended family members. The trust can also be named as a beneficiary of a person's will or life insurance policy.
Trust money used to pay for supplemental housing, food or clothing may reduce or eliminate the benefits your loved one receives through Social Security. White, Crouch & Mills, P.A., Estate Planning Law Firm, in Gainesville, Florida, can help you establish a special needs trust that meets your family's specific needs.
Gainesville Disabled Child Attorney · Special Needs Trusts · Living Trusts |