Special Needs Planning in Charleston, SC - serving clients in the North Charleston, Hanahan & Mt Pleasant areas

If you currently provide care for a child or loved one with special needs (such as mental or physical disabilities), you may have contemplated about what might happen to them when you are no longer able to provide and care for them.

While you can certainly provide that they receive money and assets, such a bequest may prevent them from qualifying for essential benefits under the Supplemental Security Income (SSI) and Medicaid programs. However, public monetary benefits provide only for the bare necessities such as food, housing and clothing. As you can imagine, these limited benefits will not provide those loved ones with the resources that would allow them to enjoy a richer quality of life. But if parents leave any assets to their child who is receiving public benefits, they run the risk of disqualifying the child from receiving those public benefits. Fortunately, the government has established rules allowing assets to be held in trust, called a "Special Needs" or "Supplemental Needs" Trust for a recipient of SSI and Medicaid, as long as certain requirements are met.

Ira D. Levy, LLC can help you set up a Special Needs Trust so that government benefit eligibility is preserved while at the same time providing assets that will meet the supplemental needs of your loved one with a disability. The Special Needs Trust will fund additional needs. In fact, the Special Needs Trust must be designed specifically to supplement, not replace public benefits. Parents should be aware that funds from the trust cannot be distributed directly to the disabled beneficiary. Instead, it must be disbursed to third parties who provide goods and services for use and enjoyment by the disabled beneficiary.

The Special Needs Trust can be used for a variety of life-enhancing expenditures without compromising your loved one's eligibility for public benefits, such as:

• Annual check-ups at an independent medical facility
• Attendance of religious services
• Supplemental education and tutoring
• Out-of-pocket medical and dental expenses
• Transportation (including purchase of a vehicle)
• Maintenance of vehicles
• Purchase materials for a hobby or recreation activity
• Funds for trips or vacations
• Funds for entertainment such as movies, shows or ballgames.
• Purchase of goods and services that add pleasure and quality to life, such as computers, videos, furniture, or electronics
• Athletic training or competitions
• Special dietary needs
• Personal care attendant or escort

Special Needs Trusts are a critical component of your estate planning if you have disabled beneficiaries for whom you wish to provide for after your passing.

Contact us today, we service clients from Mt Pleasant, North Charleston, Hanahan & Charleston, SC and surrounding areas.