Supplemental Needs Trusts

Supplemental needs trusts are created for disabled children to provide luxuries that aren't available through public assistance. This is also known as a special needs trust. These trusts are setup so that beneficiaries are allowed to receive gifts or settlements without losing their eligibility for public benefits.

Public Benefits Restrictions for Supplemental Needs Trusts; Elder Law

Supplemental needs trusts need to comply with certain rules/restrictions so that public benefits will not be jeopardized. There are two ways to go about this:

• A "Payback" program can be setup where the state or Medicaid will be paid back at the time of the beneficiaries death.
• A "Pooled Trust" can be setup (a non-profit agency manages resources "pooled" between many disabled beneficiaries.)

Supplemental Needs Trusts Restrictions on Income Paid to Beneficiary; Cohen and Oalican, LLC

There are restrictions on how funds in a supplemental needs trust can be spent. A beneficiary can lose one dollar of SSI benefits for every one dollar paid to them. Attorneys Cohen and Oalican can draft a trust to limit a trustee's discretion. They can also setup the trust to NOT limit their discretion, but properly counsel the trustee on how their money should be used.

Attorneys Cohen & Oalican specialize in Elder Law; where protecting your assets and your dignity is their core mission.