| If you have a special needs family member who is | | | | The general purpose of a Supplemental Needs Trust |
| receiving government benefits such as social security | | | | must be to provide for the reasonable living expenses |
| or medical assistance, you may be concerned about | | | | and other basic needs of a person with a disability |
| the effect the receipt of an inheritance would have on | | | | when benefits from publicly funded programs are not |
| their eligibility for such benefits. Government benefit | | | | sufficient to adequately provide for those needs. A |
| programs for disabled persons such as Supplementary | | | | Supplemental Needs Trust may allow distributions only |
| Security Income (SSI), Medical Assistance, and | | | | for purposes that supplement the benefits available |
| Medicaid consider the resources and income of an | | | | under the government programs for disabled persons, |
| individual for purposes of determining eligibility for such | | | | rather than supplant those benefits. For example, |
| assistance and the amount of assistance that will be | | | | expenditures could include items such as entertainment, |
| provided. Therefore, the receipt of assets by the | | | | education and travel, or special medical care not |
| disabled individual could cause a loss of eligibility for the | | | | covered by publicly funded benefit programs available |
| benefits he or she had been receiving. | | | | to the beneficiary. The Trustee should make payments |
| As a result, many parents and grandparents of | | | | directly to the providers of allowed goods and |
| disabled children believe that if they leave any money | | | | services rather than to the beneficiary. |
| or property to the disabled individual, it will cause a loss | | | | The trust should also contain provisions that prohibit |
| of all government benefits. Although leaving assets | | | | disbursements that would have the effect of replacing, |
| outright to the disabled individual may cause a loss of | | | | reducing or substituting the government benefits |
| eligibility, a Supplemental Needs Trust is an option that | | | | otherwise available to the beneficiary or that would |
| should be considered. A Supplemental Needs Trust is | | | | render the beneficiary ineligible for such benefits. As a |
| a trust created for a beneficiary with a disability, by | | | | Supplemental Needs Trust must be properly set up to |
| someone other than the person with a disability, which | | | | be valid, and government officials will likely review all |
| allows assets to be placed in the trust for the benefit | | | | trusts with a suspicious eye, it is important to work with |
| of the disabled individual without jeopardizing his or her | | | | an experienced estate planning attorney. |
| eligibility for government benefits. | | | | |