Learn how to maximize benefits for loved ones with special needs.
Special Needs Trusts maximize benefits and resources for beneficiaries with special needs.
The Trust’s language preserves the beneficiary’s eligibility for benefits provided by outside organizations, such as state or federal needs-based programs (e.g., Supplemental Security Income & MO HealthNet). Any income/assets from the Trust would be for supplemental support. Thus, a Special Needs Trust enables resources to go further and provide a more significant benefit to the beneficiary.
With a Special Needs Trust, the beneficiary’s overall support may look something like this:
Public Benefits
-Housing
-Medical care
-Food
Trust Benefits
-Social/recreational expenses
-Training or education
-Special equipment
-Anything that public benefits don’t cover
*It is essential that a Special Needs Trust is carefully drafted by an experienced estate planning attorney. The Trust must follow applicable laws and restrictions to prevent distributions from counting against a beneficiary’s public benefit resource limit.