Special Needs Planning: Protect Your Benefits, Protect Your Family

The Red Wagon Estate Planning & Elder Law Show

In response to listener requests, Jeff explains financial planning options for individuals with special needs. In addition to common estate planning tools, you’ll learn about third-party and first-party special needs trusts, pooled trusts, and ABLE accounts. These strategies can help safeguard governmental benefits and create long-term financial stability for your disabled loved one.

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

(00:00) Episode introduction.

(02:35) A common estate plan can include a financial power of attorney (PoA), a medical PoA, a living will, and a last will and testament.

(03:42) A trust is a legal contract between three parties, the grantor (the person who creates it), the trustee (the person who controls it), and the beneficiary (the person who receives it).

(04:14) It’s smart to set up a financial PoA and a medical PoA when a child, who has capacity to make decisions for himself or herself, turns 18. A child who does not have capacity to make decisions will likely require a guardianship hearing.

(08:08) To provide for a family member with a disability who is receiving public benefits, you can create a third-party special needs trust. The money is not left outright to the person with the disability because that can put their public benefits at risk.

(14:55) Most public benefit programs have a $2000 limit. The person with the disability is allowed to have no more than $2000 in their name. When that amount is exceeded, the person can create a first-party special needs trust, also known as a payback trust.

(18:31) A pooled trust is a type of special needs trust run by a charitable organization. It combines the funds of multiple beneficiaries into a single trust.

(20:22) An ABLE account is less expensive to set up but still provides access to money. There are limits and restrictions on this type of account, however.

ABOUT BELLOMO & ASSOCIATES

Jeffrey R. Bellomo, the founder of Bellomo & Associates, is a licensed and certified elder law attorney with a master’s degree in taxation and a certificate in estate planning. He explains complex legal and financial topics in easy-to-understand language.

Bellomo & Associates is committed to providing education so that what happened to the Bellomo family doesn’t happen to your family. We conduct free workshops on estate planning, crisis planning, Medicaid planning, special needs planning, probate administration, and trust administration. Visit our website (https://bellomoassociates.com/) to learn more.

LINKS AND RESOURCES MENTIONED

Bellomo & Associates workshops:https://bellomoassociates.com/workshops/

• Life Care Planning
• The Three Secrets of Estate Planning
• Nuts & Bolts of Medicaid

For more information, call us at [phone].

Connect with Bellomo & Associates on Social Media

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WAYS TO WORK WITH JEFFREY BELLOMO

Contact Us:https://bellomoassociates.com/contact/

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