Tampa Special Needs Planning Attorney

If you are the parent, sibling, or loved one of a person with special needs, you may have many concerns about what will happen to your special needs loved one after you are gone. You may wish to provide property or assets to ensure he or she will receive adequate care. But by outright giving the assets to your special needs loved one, you may risk his or her eligibility for government benefits. To avoid this result, many people utilize a Tampa Attorney whose expertise is developing Special Needs Trusts as a way to provide assets and care without jeopardizing the eligibility for government benefits.

Special Needs Trusts allow assets to be held in trust for the care of someone who is disabled or suffering from a physical or mental illness. When a Special Needs Trust is properly prepared by an experienced Tampa estate planning attorney, the assets in the trust will not be counted when applying for government benefits such as Supplemental Security Income (SSI), Medicaid, and housing benefits.

With professional special needs planning, you can rest assured that money set aside for a loved one’s care will be protected, as well as not hinder their ability to receive other kinds of assistance. Not only do Tampa special needs trusts ensure that allotted funds go directly to paying for the care and needs of your loved one, but also separate these funds from ownership of your loved one, so that he or she may still be eligible for financial assistance which may not otherwise be available if the same funds were left directly as an inheritance.

Planning for someone with special needs must be done very carefully and with great attention to detail when it comes to financial security. While a simple Will may have been sufficient to outline care instructions in the past, the times have changed considerably. Nowadays, to protect a loved one who has special needs, a thorough estate plan with focus on special needs planning, is absolutely necessary.

As touched on briefly above, a primary method of providing for a loved one is to establish a Tampa Special Needs Trust so that parents, grandparents or other guardians have access to the funds to pay for caretaking. Setting up a special needs trust is relatively straightforward process you can start today by contacting Suncoast Elder Law.

The main areas of consideration when setting up such a trust are:

Who will be appropriate guardians for your loved one?
Who will be a suitable Trustee to manage the trust’s finances?
Outline details about education, housing, personal and emotional needs

Suncoast Elder Law firm has helped many families build solid special needs plans, designed to protect your child’s financial future.