Thoughtful estate planning is essential when you have a loved one with special needs. A well-designed estate plan can ensure they receive the care they need after you are gone.
The attorneys at Romano & Sumner are skilled at special needs estate planning in Sugar Land. They are ready to spend the necessary time to understand your concerns and help you devise an estate plan that protects all your loved ones.
Some children are born with disabilities that prevent them from living independently, and sometimes people experience accidents or develop diseases that leave them vulnerable. If you are a caregiver or helping to support a person with disabilities, you may be concerned about what will happen to them if you die or become disabled yourself.
You can address these worries in a personalized estate plan. Our Sugar Land estate planning attorneys can help you determine what kind of support your loved one with special needs will require after you are gone and what resources will be available to them. We can then propose solutions that maximize the benefits they are entitled to receive while ensuring they have a decent quality of life, and we could also work to protect the interests of the other family members who survive you.
People with significant disabilities are entitled to public benefits. Most of these programs are means-based, and leaving money or property to a disabled person could disqualify them from access to necessary support.
If you set up a special needs trust, you can leave assets to your disabled loved one without endangering their public benefits. The beneficiary can use the money for expenses that government programs do not cover, such as:
Any property remaining in the trust when the beneficiary dies can be distributed as you direct in the trust documents.
If your disabled loved one is a child, you will also need a will to designate a guardian to care for them after you die. If the beneficiary of your special needs trust is already a legal adult, a will can be beneficial but is not strictly necessary. Our attorneys in Sugar Land can advise you about the steps and documents required to develop an estate plan that ensures your disabled beneficiary is protected.
A beneficiary cannot manage the assets in a special needs trust, so you must name a trustee. You can be the initial trustee if the trust takes effect immediately, but you should name one or more successor trustees to manage the trust should you become incapacitated or die. Many special needs trusts are set up to take effect and be funded on your death, so you must name at least one trustee and a successor trustee in the trust documents.
People with disabled children often want to name their co-parent as trustee. In that case, it is essential to name successor trustees who could be expected to outlive the beneficiary.
Our estate planning attorneys in Sugar Land can help you draft a letter of intent regarding the special needs trust. It can state your wishes about how the trustee and beneficiary use the trust property, but your directions are not binding. The trustee’s primary duty is to use the money for the best interests of the beneficiary.
Ensuring a disabled loved one will have a good quality of life after you die can provide enormous peace of mind. Contact us at Romano & Sumner today to find out more about special needs estate planning in Sugar Land.
Romano & Sumner, PLLC
