Lewisville, TX Special Needs Trust Lawyer

If you are the parent of a special needs child, you need to consider creating a special needs trust for his or her benefit. If you fail to do so, whatever assets you leave behind that will go directly to your child will jeopardize his or her ability to remain eligible for government benefits available through such programs as Medicaid or Supplemental Security Income (SSI). 

At Hernandez | Stokes Law, PLLC, our estate planning lawyer is adept at creating special needs trusts designed to safeguard eligibility for those government benefits while providing funds for your child’s supplementary needs that can complement his or her life. These trusts must be set up according to legal standards to ensure that they meet the qualifications that will protect your family member. We can create a properly-drafted trust that will ensure that your child will continue receiving government benefits while also legally receiving trust asset distributions. 

Reach out to our Lewisville, TX special needs trust attorney to find out more about how you can protect your disabled family member in a free consultation. Contact us via our website or at (972) 449-8606 to get started. We serve clients across the Dallas-Fort Worth area and the entirety of Texas.

Why You Need Special Needs Trusts in Texas

Supplemental Security Income(SSI) and Medicaid are needs-based programs that support disabled individuals. Only those who qualify due to meeting specific income limitations are eligible for these programs. Thus, giving your disabled person assets, such as through direct gifts or inheritances can raise their financial resources above the required income limitation levels, making the programs unavailable to them.

Other kinds of trusts may not preserve your disabled person’s governmental benefits. Special needs trusts do because the assets in them are not counted towards his or her financial resources. Special needs trusts are “discretionary” trusts, meaning that the beneficiary does not control the assets, cannot manage the assets, and is not granted the right to demand any distributions, name trustees, or alter the terms of the trust. The trustee you name to manage the trust is in complete control and thus has discretion about the distributions provided to the disabled person. 

Trustees designated to manage special needs trusts can be family members, family friends, or professional entities. 

If you have a disabled family member, creating a well-crafted special needs trust should be part of your total estate planning strategy. At Hernandez | Stokes Law, PLLC, we are here to help you understand the full implications of such a trust, how to fund such a trust, and answer any other questions or concerns you may have about these specialized trusts.