Special Needs Trusts

SSI, Medicaid (medical insurance), Section 8 Housing, Arkansas disability and medical benefits, some veterans’ benefits, and some prescription benefits are essential to nursing home residents, people with disabilities, veterans, children, and more. Loss of those benefits can have a dramatic impact.

Winning a lawsuit, receiving a large settlement, inheriting assets, receiving insurance proceeds, and making too much money can jeopardize government benefits.

To protect government benefits for a loved one, consider a Special Needs Trust (SNT). SNTs provide the second opinion, the nicer room, the wheelchair, the vacation, trips to the dentist, a home, a car—the things that give life color.

SNTs can be created with someone else’s money or with yours. If someone else’s money is used to fund a SNT, funds remaining after your death can pass to someone other than the government.

If a SNT is created for you with your money, state governments can seek repayment from the trust after your death for money spent for your care. A special type of SNT created with your money is the “pooled” SNT. In a pooled SNT, funds for many beneficiaries are managed together by a professional, nonprofit manager. A pooled SNT is the only type of SNT which can be set up by the beneficiary.

Whether a third-party SNT or a self-funded SNT provides the best solution, a professional trustee is often the best choice. A perfectly written SNT can still jeopardize government benefits if it is incorrectly managed. Professional trustees bring expertise to a complicated area and are usually worth their fees.

SNTs are legal exceptions to the limited asset requirements for government benefits. They provide a way for people to bring comforts to a life made difficult with disability.