Special Needs Trusts
For beneficiaries who have a mental disability, there is a specific type of trust, known as a special needs trust, that can help these individuals receive their rightful inheritance as well as maintain their government assistance, which may continue to provide necessary services.
To learn more about your options in creating a trust or will that directs your estate in the manner you want, contact the Houston wills and trusts attorneys of Garg & Associates, P.C., today at 281-362-2865.
Supplemental Needs Trusts
Special needs trusts may also be called supplemental needs trusts, as these trusts interact with programs such as Medicaid in very specific ways in order to avoid canceling benefits. In the American sense of the law, these trusts are less specific as to who may benefit from them. The following groups may use supplemental needs trusts to maintain their support from Medicaid:
- Individuals with a mental disability
- Individuals with a mental illness
- Individuals with a physical disability
One of the primary issues with trusts involving those who use Medicaid nursing services is the threshold Medicaid must recognize before an individual is expected to pay for nursing assistance on their own. If an individual’s assets reach above a certain amount, which is intentionally set low to disqualify anyone who is not particularly poor, then Medicaid may pull their long-term nursing support. As such, it is important that benefits are not denied to individuals who truly need these services, but may cross the financial threshold after they receive an inheritance.
Contact Us
For help developing your estate plan and determining how best to establish a trust for whatever specific beneficiary you may want to assist, contact the Houston wills and trusts lawyers of Garg & Associates, P.C., by calling 281-362-2865 today.
