29 May Special Needs Planning Precedes Creating a Special Needs Trust

At Phelps LaClair, located in Phoenix, Chandler, and Mesa, AZ, we specialize in estate planning. For some, that includes special needs planning. A Special Needs Trusts is valuable if you’ve got a disabled child, or if you desire to name a disabled person as your beneficiary. We’ve already written a previous blog post on the importance of setting up a special needs trust for a disabled beneficiary, even if you’re wealthy. But setting up a Special Needs Trust should be preceded by careful planning that examines several important factors regarding future care for the disabled person, as well as financial considerations of your estate.

Special Needs Planning Comes First

A correctly prepared Special Needs Trust will supplement, not replace, government benefits for a disabled beneficiary. But government regulations on care for disabled persons are complex, to say the least. For that reason, it’s critical that an attorney creating a Special Needs Trust understand those government rules. Otherwise, the Special Needs Trust may not properly comply with government policies, resulting in loss of valuable government benefits for the disabled beneficiary.

That’s why, before creating a Special Needs Trust, we meet with you and:

1. 1. Take time to do a thorough examination of your estate plan
   2. Do an in-depth study of the disabled beneficiary’s circumstances

Special Needs Planning involves asking some essential questions in order to understand your disabled beneficiary’s needs—questions like:

What are their daily needs?

What medical care is required for them?

What activities are they involved in that will require transportation or skilled personnel?

You don’t want your disabled beneficiary’s quality of life to change after you’ve passed away. They should be able to continue involvement in activities they currently enjoy and, for the duration of their life, they should continue to experience the same quality of care they’re currently receiving.

For example, are they involved in sports or physical activities? If so, funds should be allocated to enable their ongoing participation. Or, do they enjoy going to the theatre, or visiting the local museums? Provisions should be made for them to continue these types of interests.

You want your loved one to enjoy life and to be well taken care of after your death. Careful planning will protect government benefits and enable your estate to provide a higher quality of life for your disabled beneficiary. Special needs planning is the vital first step to being certain a Special Needs Trust will protect their benefits and adequately serve their future needs. If you’ve got a special needs trust in mind as part of your estate planning portfolio, we’ll be glad to guide you through the entire process, from the first crucial special needs planning meeting to the final drawing up of the Special Needs Trust documents. We’re Phelps LaClair, and we care about what concerns you, your family, and your future.

Images used under creative commons license – commercial use (5/25/18) ArtsyBee(Pixabay)