Special Needs Trust Law






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A Special Needs Trust is a trust set up to provide for disabled people’s extra and supplemental needs, other than basic food, shelter and health care expenses that may be covered by public assistance benefits that the beneficiary may be entitled to receive under various programs such as Supplemental Security Income and Medicaid.

Special Needs Trusts - US

  • ABA - Financial Planning - Special Needs Trusts

    Much has changed in the emerging area of planning for the disabled. Law schools now routinely offer courses that address the numerous specialized needs of people who are disabled. As a consequence, the number of lawyers focusing on elder law, disability planning, and government benefits planning has increased dramatically.

  • Income and Estate Tax Planning for Special Needs Trusts

    There are many legal, tax and personal issues to be addressed in establishing the trust's terms; the tax adviser must anticipate the income and estate tax consequences.

  • Social Security Laws

    Social Security Program Rules Home Page, it contains the full text of the Social Security Act, as amended, and selected provisions of the Internal Revenue Code.

  • Social Security Recent Legislation

    The Office of the Deputy Commissioner for Legislative and Regulatory Affairs (ODCLRA) serves as the focal point for all legislative activity in SSA. This page has been designed to provide visitors to our website with accurate, useful, and current information about SSA's legislative program, legislative research, and other matters pertaining to the flow of information between SSA and Congress.

  • Special Needs Estate Planning

    A Trust is a legal document containing instructions directing the management and distribution of the resources placed in the Trust. The person creating or funding the Trust is the Grantor. The person who receives the benefit or on whose behalf the Trust was created is the Beneficiary. The Grantor appoints a Trustee, which is a person or entity (such as a bank) that will manage the Trust and distribute the Trust’s funds for the benefit of the Beneficiary. Trusts are used for a variety of purposes in estate planning.

  • Special Needs or Supplemental Needs Trusts

    A special needs trust- sometimes called a "supplemental needs trust"- provides for the needs of a disabled person without disqualifying him or her from benefits received from government programs such as Social Security and Medicaid. A special needs trust makes it possible to appoint a trustee to maintain assets and retain or qualify for public assistance benefits.

  • Special Needs Trust - Definition

    A special needs trust is created to ensure that beneficiaries who are disabled or mentally ill can enjoy the use of property which is intended to be held for their benefit. In addition to personal planning reasons for such a trust (the person may lack the mental capacity to handle their financial affairs) there may be fiscal advantages to the use of a trust. Such trusts may also avoid beneficiaries losing access to essential government benefits.

  • US Code - Liens, Adjustments and Recoveries, and Transfers of Assets

    Under the provisions of 42 U.S.C. § 1396p(d)(4)(A), a Disabled Individual’s Trust will not be counted as a Medicaid asset even when it is funded with the applicant’s own assets.

Organizations Related to Special Needs Trusts

  • Academy of Special Needs Planners

    The purpose of the Academy of Special Needs Planners is to assist special needs attorneys in providing the highest quality service and advice to individuals with special needs and to their families. In addition to providing its member attorneys with up-to-date information on legal developments nationwide and a forum for exchanging best practices, the Academy provides information to consumers through this web site and its monthly e-mail newsletter.

  • Center for Special Needs Trust Administration, Inc.

    Because Special Needs Trusts protect eligibility for public assistance programs such as SSI and Medicaid, they present very special and unique administrative problems. The Center for Special Needs Trust Administration, Inc. (the Center) is a Florida not-for-profit corporation that offers a special solution to this problem by offering specialized administrative services for Special Needs Trusts.

  • Consortium for Citizens with Disabilities

    The Consortium for Citizens with Disabilities is a Coalition of national consumer, advocacy, provider and professional organizations headquartered in Washington, D.C. Since 1973, the CCD has advocated on behalf of people of all ages with physical and mental disabilities and their families. CCD has worked to achieve federal legislation and regulations that assure that the 54 million children and adults with disabilities are fully integrated into the mainstream of society.

  • Disability Rights Advocates

    DRA is a non-profit legal center whose mission is to ensure dignity, equality, and opportunity for people with all types of disabilities throughout the United States and worldwide.

  • National Special Needs Network

    The National Special Needs Network is a coast-to-coast affiliation of independent Special Needs Professionals dedicated to providing the finest and most complete special needs support services in America.

  • Special Needs Alliance (SNA)

    The Special Needs Alliance (SNA) is a national, not for profit organization of attorneys dedicated to the practice of disability and public benefits law. Individuals with disabilities, their families and their advisors rely on the SNA to connect them with nearby attorneys who focus their practices in the disability law arena.

Articles on HG.org Related to Special Needs Trusts

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    The recent floods in Colorado have brought a problem to the forefront: post-disaster price gouging. While 35 states have made this a crime, there are still 15, Colorado included, where this is merely considered capitalism.
  • Trust Fund Baby? Navigating the Inheritance Talk with Your Children
    A concern of many parents with a sizeable estate is that their children will inherit the assets before they are emotionally mature to handle it. Further, many parents of sizeable wealth either do not want to give their children a sense of entitlement or simply do not want to discuss their wealth with their children.
  • Fiscal Cliff Crisis Avoided? Estate Taxes in 2013
    In 2012, with the dreaded “Fiscal Cliff” looming, many were worried about the inaction that would cause the estate tax exemption level to fall to $1 million. However, in the first two days of the new year, Congress finally passed the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012 (ATRA) which makes permanent the $5 million exemption as well as portability.
  • Action Required: Portability
    The American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012 (ATRA) extended and made permanent (i.e., until Congress changes its mind) a number of key estate tax provisions. This includes a $5 million ($5.25 including inflation) estate tax exemption and portability of a deceased spouse’s exemption to the surviving spouse. The result of this means that married couples can shelter up to $10.5 million of their estate from federal taxes.
  • Families Behind Revlon and Hudson Media Fight Bitter Legal Battle Over Enormous Inheritance
    Samantha Perelman is a 23-year-old student at Columbia University, working on a masters of business administration and as a summer production assistant on the set of the HBO show “Girls.” Impressive credentials, to be sure, but more impressive is the legal battle in which she finds herself: she is fighting with her uncle for a share in an estimated $700 million inheritance.
  • Planning for the Future: Using Estate Documents to Protect Minor Children
    For many families, the birth of a child is the first life event that triggers the realization that estate planning is necessary. What most families may not realize, however, is the breadth of protection that can be afforded to their children with relatively simple estate planning. Not only can they assure that their assets will be protected for their children, they can also designate exactly how those assets will be distributed to their children.
  • Non-Residents and Estate Tax
    A Resident Non-Citizen is generally taxed for estate tax purpose as a US Citizen, except for marital deduction issues.
  • Merger of American Airlines and US Airways After Bankruptcy May Face Anti-Trust Law Issues
    A bankruptcy judge in New York has endorsed a plan to merge American Airlines and US Airways. That approval, however, is contingent upon the outcome of an anti-trust lawsuit filed by the US Department of Justice which asserts that such a merger would deprive the marketplace of choice and competition.
  • What Happens to Property if There is No Will?
    If you have lost a loved one, there are many things on your mind, not the least of which may be what to do with the belongings that have been left behind. Sadly, family can become very attached to different items that may bear a sentimental value to them, or feel entitled to a portion of the estate's value. These problems can be greatly magnified in situations where there is no will.
  • Why Is It Important to Have a Will?
    It is important that each person have a will that directs their family members and loved ones on how they want their final wishes to be carried out (i.e., burial, cremation, etc.), as well as how they want their estate to be divided after their death.
  • All Estate Planning Articles

    Articles written by attorneys and experts worldwide discussing legal aspects related to Estate Planning including: estate and trust, inheritance law, personal property, probate, wills.

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