Special needs trusts : protect your child's financial future

Leave money to a loved one with a disability--without losing benefits

Use a special needs trust to provide financial security for your child (or anyone) with a disability, without jeopardizing important government benefits. Funds in a special needs trust do not count against eligibility for benefits and can be used to improve the quality of your child's life.

This book provides everything you need to know about special needs trusts--whether you make one yourself or have an attorney draft one for you. The authors explain:
how special needs trusts work the trustee's role ways to pass important information to successor trustees the pros and cons of joining a pooled trust, and creating special needs trust with or without a lawyer.
This 7th edition is thoroughly updated and includes new chapters on ABLE accounts and letters of intent.

• Your Legal Companion for Special Needs Trusts p. 1
• 1 Planning for a Loved One With Special Needs p. 5
• Why You May Want to Establish a Special Needs Trust p. 6
• How a Special Needs Trust Can Help p. 13
• Who Can Benefit From a Special Needs Trust p. 15
• Who Can Set Up a Special Needs Trust p. 15
• Alternatives to a Special Needs Trust p. 17
• How a Special Needs Trust Works-Nuts and Bolts p. 20
• 2 Who Can Benefit From a Special Needs Trust p. 33
• Someone With a Permanent or Severe Disability Who Is Unable to Earn a Living p. 34
• Someone Who May Get Better p. 36
• Someone Who May Need a Special Needs Trust Later p. 38
• Someone Who Is Eligible for Medicare or SSDI p. 39
• Someone Who Needs Assistance Managing an Inheritance p. 41
• 3 How Trust Funds Can (and Cannot) Be Used p. 43
• SSI Income and Resource Limits: An Overview p. 44
• Assets in the Special Needs Trust p. 45
• How Special Needs Trust Funds Can Be Used p. 48
• Exempt Resources p. 49
• Gifts of Cash p. 54
• Payments for Food or Shelter p. 56
• Gifts of Food or Shelter From Other Sources p. 59
• What the Trustee Should Not Pay For: Countable Assets p. 59
• 4 Getting Money Into a Special Needs Trust p. 61
• What Assets to Put Into a Special Needs Trust p. 62
• How Much Money Will Your Loved One Need? p. 63
• How to Leave Money to a Special Needs Trust p. 65
• Don't Commingle the Beneficiary's Property With Trust Property p. 73
• 5 The Trustee's Job p. 75
• The Trustee's Basic Duties p. 76
• Working With a Guardian or Conservator p. 78
• Investing Trust Property p. 79
• Spending Trust Money for the Beneficiary p. 81
• Managing a Remainder Beneficiary's Property p. 84
• Preserving Eligibility for SSI and Medicaid p. 85
• Paying Taxes p. 89
• Going to Court p. 90
• Letter to Trustee p. 91
• 6 Choosing Trustees p. 93
• An Overview of Your Options p. 94
• Picking the Ideal Trustee p. 95
• Naming the Initial Trustee p. 102
• Naming Successor Trustees p. 104
• Naming Cotrustees p. 105
• Naming a Professional or Corporate Trustee p. 108
• Using a Trust Protector or Trust Advisory Committee p. 111
• Signing Up for a Pooled Trust p. 113
• 7 Joining a Pooled Trust p. 115
• An Overview of Pooled Trusts p. 117
• Can You Use a Pooled Trust? p. 119
• How Pooled Trusts Work p. 124
• Joining a Pooled Trust p. 131
• What Happens When the Trust Ends p. 135
• 8 ABLE Accounts p. 139
• Qualifying for and Opening an ABLE Account p. 141
• Funding an ABLE Account p. 143
• Spending ABLE Account Funds p. 145
• Medicaid Payback p. 148
• Is an ABLE Account Right for You or Your Loved One? p. 148
• 9 Creating Your Special Needs Trust p. 153
• Drafting the Trust Document p. 154
• Making the Trust Legal and Effective p. 182
• Keeping the Special Needs Trust Up to Date p. 182
• Sample Special Needs Trust p. 183
• 10 Finalizing and Funding Your Special Needs Trust p. 195
• Making Your Trust Legal p. 196
• Taxes p. 198
• Opening the Trust's Deposit Account p. 201
• Incorporating the Trust Into Your Estate Plan p. 202
• 11 Preparing a letter of Intent p. 207
• How a Letter of Intent Helps p. 208
• Before You Write Your Letter p. 211
• What to Include in Your Letter p. 212
• After You Write Your Letter p. 215
• 12 Where to Get More Help p. 217
• Lawyers p. 218
• Paralegals p. 224
• Certified Financial Planners p. 224
• SSA and Medicaid Personnel p. 226
• Keeping Up to Date p. 226
• Books p. 229
• Glossary p. 231
• Appendixes
• A Letter to Trustee p. 243
• Utter to Trustee p. 245
• Managing a Special Needs Trust p. 246
• Documenting the Authority of Successor Trustees p. 260
• B Sample Letter of Intent p. 265
• Sample Letter of Intent p. 267
• C Using the eForms p. 281
• Using the RTFs p. 282
• List of Forms p. 283
• Index p. 285