- Who it helps: A disabled person younger than 65 who comes into assets (typically by inheritance or settling a personal injury case) that otherwise would make him/her ineligible for government benefit programs such as Supplemental Security Income (“SSI”) or Medicaid can maintain eligibility for government benefits by placing the assets into a specific type of special needs trust (“SNT”) that has been authorized by federal law since 1993.
- What happened before? Before the 21st Century Cures Act, however, the disabled person was not allowed to establish the SNT. The SNT needed to be established by a 3rd party such as a parent, grandparent, guardian, conservator, or Probate Court. When there was no parent or grandparent around to establish the SNT, it became extremely complicated (and expensive) for the disabled person to get the SNT established.
- What will happen now? 21st Century Cures Act undoes that inequity by allowing a disabled person to establish the SNT for himself/herself. No longer is a parent, grandparent or other third party required to be the one that establishes the SNT.
- How this benefits individuals: This will make life significantly easier for a disabled person younger than 65 who needs to preserve eligibility for many means tested government benefit programs.
If you are interested in learning more about special needs trust planning, please visit our website and read our blog for recent posts. For advice specific to you or your family, please contact the office. We would be glad to meet with you for a no hassle, no charge initial consultation, no matter how long it lasts.