Special Needs. Every age. Every stage.
A newborn with a diagnosis. A sibling on SSI. A spouse recovering from a stroke. An aging parent moving toward Medicaid long-term care. The right trust protects benefits, preserves dignity, and keeps a lifetime of quality-of-life spending on the table — without stripping the family who loves them.
One wrong beneficiary form can cost a lifetime of benefits.
SSI has a $2,000 resource limit. Medicaid, Section 8, SNAP, and waiver services all have their own thresholds. An outright inheritance — even a modest one — can strip a beneficiary of benefits worth tens of thousands per year, plus the healthcare coverage those benefits carry. A properly drafted third-party special needs trust holds the funds for their benefit without counting as their asset. The money is still there. The benefits stay. Quality of life goes up, not down.
Babies & children
- Third-party SNT drafted at diagnosis or birth
- Guardianship nomination — primary and standby
- Beneficiary alignment on 529s, UTMAs, life insurance
- ABLE account coordination where it helps
- Letter of intent for future caregivers
Adults & siblings
- SNT for adult beneficiaries on SSI or Medicaid
- First-party SNT for settlements or existing funds
- Supported-decision-making documents
- Corporate co-trustee for benefits administration
- Housing and Section 8 preservation strategy
Aging parents & spouses
- Medicaid-planning irrevocable trust (5-year lookback)
- Community-spouse protection strategy
- Long-term-care coordination with elder-law counsel
- Powers of attorney with gifting authority
- Coordination with a supplemental SNT if needed
One structure. Every age it needs to cover.
We start by identifying every beneficiary who is — or could be — on means-tested benefits, at any point in their life. We draft a third-party special needs trust with a trustee and successor who understand benefits administration. We re-title every account, retirement plan, and life-insurance policy so beneficiary forms point to the trust, not the person. And when Medicaid long-term care enters the picture for an older generation, we layer in a Medicaid-planning trust that coordinates cleanly with the family's existing plan.
This is a legacy plan — not a benefits workaround.
A well-built special needs plan does more than preserve eligibility. It funds the therapies, dental work, adaptive equipment, technology, transportation, education, and vacations that public benefits will never cover. It names a trustee who knows the person, not just the paperwork. And it survives you — quietly, precisely, for as long as your beneficiary needs it.
Send us the details of your beneficiary — securely, at your pace.
Contact info, family situation, beneficiaries, and goals. Saves to your client record so we walk into your strategy session prepared.
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Get a benefits-safe plan built around your beneficiary.
The $250 strategy session is credited toward the plan we build for you. Start with the intake so we walk in prepared.