We have repeatedly discussed the requirement that special needs trust funds only be used for specific purposes – namely to supplement the care that an individual with special needs receives from public benefit programs, such as SSI or ALTCS.  And while this requirement is important, indeed necessary, for a special needs trust to exist, it is by no means the only requirement that pertains to the validity of special needs trusts. At a very fundamental level, trusts of all kinds must adhere to specific requirements.  And although special needs trusts are established for a unique purpose, they must also adhere

In the interest of reviewing one of the most important rules that trustees of special needs trusts must adhere to, let’s take a look at the types of expenditures can be made with special needs trust funds.  Most fundamentally, trustees can never give trust beneficiaries special needs trust funds outright.  Rather, the funds can be used to supplement the beneficiary’s care, but cannot be used like a checking account to provide the beneficiary with open access to funds. New trustees should work with a special needs trust attorney who can explain that special needs trust funds can only be used

Imagine that you have a child with special needs who relies on Social Security income for support.  Although you do not have substantial income, you have saved up a small nest egg over the course of your life that you would like to pass on to your child.  If your child did not have special needs, you could probably leave that child an inheritance that would be nothing but helpful and appreciated.  Because your child relies on Social Security income, however, your well-intentioned inheritance could disqualify her from the benefit upon which she relies. If you left your child a

Seniors who get into automobile accidents sometimes have difficult recoveries, and thus require care in a long-term care facility.  And given that the vast majority of individuals have not prepared to pay for this expensive care, many of these seniors find themselves in need of Arizona’s Medicaid program, ALTCS.  One very common problem that arises here, however, is that the personal injury settlement or judgment impedes Medicaid eligibility.  Even seniors who otherwise draw very little income and have very little savings can be ineligible for Medicaid for receiving a personal injury settlement. It hardly seems fair that a settlement from

Arizona special needs plans should without exception contain a special needs trust.  Put differently, if you have a child with special needs, you should absolutely prepare for the future by establishing a special needs trust for your child.  The primary reason for this, of course, is that a special needs trust can help you set aside money for your child without jeopardizing your child’s eligibility for government benefits, such as ALTCS or SSI. That special needs trusts can preserve eligibility for government benefits is perhaps the most obvious reason why Arizona special needs plans should include such a trust.  It