As a part of the estate planning process, many people want to provide money for the benefit of a disabled child or a family member in a nursing home. However, without good planning, a gift to a disabled person can go awry, causing him or her to become ineligible for Medicaid and other government benefits. One way to provide for a family member without jeopardizing governmental assistance is to place the money in a special needs trust.

Attorney Rollie R. Hanson creates special needs trusts for families throughout southeastern Wisconsin, including West Allis and the Greater Milwaukee area.

There are many ways special needs trusts can be used:

• To provide an inheritance for a disabled child without making them ineligible for government assistance.
• In some cases to provide money for a parent or spouse in a nursing home without making them ineligible for Medicaid to pay nursing home expenses.
• To provide a personal injury lawsuit settlement to a severely injured person without making them ineligible for government assistance.

 If you place assets in a special needs trust for a beneficiary, those assets are not counted as the beneficiary’s personal assets. Instead, money is managed by a trustee for the benefit of the person named as the beneficiary. 

Special needs trusts are often used with Medicaid planning to preserve assets while planning for a loved one’s long-term care in a nursing home or assisted living facility.