Planning for a Disabled Adult Child
More and more Older and Senior Parents find themselves caring for disabled adult children and grandchildren. A source of joy and heart-break, every parent worries about what will happen to their special needs child if they cannot care for them. Attorneys Joel Weissler and Damien Snow are both experienced in helping families access public benefits for their loved ones and leverage their resources to enhance their standard of living.
In the past many Parents left money to a disabled adult’s brother or sister and asked that their sibling watch out for them. Sometimes this worked, sometimes not. Federal and California law now allow parents to establish supplemental needs trusts (sometimes called ‘special needs trusts’) for their children protecting both their disabled child’s benefits and the assets from their sibling’s personal and financial issues. Parents can set up these trusts to be effective during their lifetimes or to become effective only upon their deaths.
Special Needs Trusts (Supplemental Needs Trusts)
When a Parent creates a Special Needs Trust for their Child the assets they place into the trust are not considered to belong to that disabled child for benefits purposes. If the Parent uses their own money to fund the trust then the parent can control where the funds go after the disabled child has passed. Trusts can also be created with a disabled child’s own money, or injury lawsuit proceeds. When a disabled child’s own money is used, whatever is left on their passing must be held available to the government to repay them for any Medi-Cal paid medical expenses paid.
The up to date Supplemental Needs Trusts created by our firm include provisions to allow your Trustee to hire a professional care manager to monitor the disabled child’s medical and non-medical needs as well as to identify all public benefit programs available to help the disable person. This is incredibly important because it frees your successor Trustee from needing to become an expert on government benefit programs. We also include provisions appointing a ‘Trust Protector’ to watch over the Trustee to be certain that they are serving your child’s needs. They are empowered to monitor the trust and its investments and to remove and replace the Trustee without going to court.
Call Us
To put your mind at ease and to find answers to your questions about what will happen to your disabled child if you are not able to care for then Call the Weissler Law Group 619-281-1888 or 760-487-8180 or contact us online.