Special Needs Trust

Having a child with special needs can be one of the most difficult situations that a person can ever face. The recurring and unsettling fear that most parents have is not knowing how their special needs child will be cared for after they are gone.

Sometimes, but not often enough, there is another sibling in the family who the parents can count on. But even then, there is the possibility that the special needs child could outlive his or her siblings.

Thank goodness for special needs trusts. At least this way, a special needs beneficiary can receive an inheritance and still not be disqualified from receiving public benefits.

But there are still many questions. Who will be the trustee? Should you pick an institutional trustee, if so, which one? Should children be named as trustee for their special needs siblings, and should they have the power to name co-trustees and successor trustees?

Also, where will the assets go when the special needs beneficiary dies?

The counseling session for a special needs trust, which is oftentimes a sub-trust of a client's revocable living trust, deals with these issues and more. Every family is a little different.

You can never replace a lost parent, but this certainly helps.