The Importance Of Massachusetts Special Needs Trust

The Importance of Special Needs Trusts In Massachusetts

What is a special needs trust?

A special needs trust is simply a legal document, an advantageous way to set aside money for a person with a disability.

The trust is intended to help preserve funds for a person with a disability, and enhance the person’s quality of life while protecting his or her eligibility for public benefits, such as Medicaid and Supplemental Security Income (also known as “SSI”).

A 1993 federal law permitted the creation of special needs trusts. The policies that must be followed in creating and administering them are detailed by the Social Security Administration.

Special Needs Trust Administration

Lifetime Security for Your Disabled Child Establishing a well-funded Special Needs Trust (SNT) for a child with a disability in Massachusetts is an important part of providing them with a lifetime of safety, security, and quality of life after you are gone. Money, managed well, means options, choices, and a better life.

How Can Special Needs Trust Funds Be Used?

Many trustees mistakenly believe that a Special Needs Trust can only be used to pay for medical goods and services or other items that are directly related to the beneficiary’s disability, however, if an SNT is well-drafted, that is not the case. Special Needs Trusts can be used to pay for just about anything that benefits the beneficiary, such as home and vehicle maintenance, vacations, computers, and other electronic equipment, education expenses, or monthly phone, cable, and internet services. It can be used to pay for things like rent, however, this reduces the amount of SSI benefit the beneficiary receives.

Precautions for SNT Trustees

It is important to note that there are technical requirements that must be met while serving as a trustee.

You must follow all of the terms and instructions in the trust document, even if they are more restrictive than public benefits law requires.

Trust assets for the beneficiary must be used in ways that do not affect the beneficiary’s public benefits.

Only beneficiaries of the trust may benefit. For a self-settled d4A Trust, that means just the disabled individual and for third-party SNTs, it means only those the trust document states may benefit.

The trust must be treated with the utmost respect. The trustee should not borrow from the trust nor commingle the trust assets with the trustee’s personal assets.

Administering a Special Needs Trust can be complicated and confusing, and making the wrong decision can be problematic. We are Special Needs Trust administration experts who provide trustees with the reliable advice they need to ensure the best quality of life for the trust’s beneficiary.

Plan for now & the future!

What Can SpecialNeedsTrustsOnline.com Do to Help?

Call Now: (508) 872-4747

Book an online appointment: Click Here

Services Provided

Special Needs Trusts Online Can Help!

I am a Special Needs Trust Attorney and I am here to help. I am the founder of a nonprofit 501(c)(3) corporation that provides quality affordable Special Needs Trusts to families. I have over 20 years of experience helping families just like yours. Find out more information at SpecialNeedsTrustsOnline.com or click here to set up a free appointment.