Special Needs Trusts

SPECIAL NEEDS TRUSTS

Special needs trusts allow disabled persons to receive gifts, lawsuit settlements, inheritances and other funds while maintaining eligibility for government programs based upon financial need like Medicaid, Supplemental Security Income (SSI), Section 8 Housing and the like. There are two (2) types of special needs trusts, and the difference is based upon the source of the assets used to fund the trust. Special needs trusts funded with assets belonging to disabled persons themselves, either from gifts received from others or litigation settlements, are called “self-settled special needs trusts.” Special needs trusts funded with assets belonging to third parties, such as inheritances left to a disabled child in trust, are called “third-party special needs trusts.” The laws governing the two types of special needs trusts are quite different, and complex.

Confidential client questionnaire for a self-settled special needs trust – Confidential Client Questionnaire for Self-Settled Special Needs Trust

Confidential client questionnaire for a third-party special needs trust – Confidential Client Questionnaire for Third-Party Special Needs Trust