San Antonio Special Needs Attorneys

Estate Planning for Individuals with Special Needs in Bexar County and the Surrounding Areas

If you have a child or family member with special needs, specific planning is necessary so that they are protected should something happen to you. Traditional gifting of money or property to a person with special needs can unintentionally cause more harm than good.

At Weisinger Law Firm, we can help you navigate estate planning for your loved one with special needs. Our team can assist you with a Special Needs Trust designed to benefit your family member as you intend. We can also assist with special needs guardianships. No matter your goals or circumstances, we are confident we can answer your questions, walk you through your options, and help you take steps to protect the interests of your loved one. 

If you are thinking of leaving assets meant to benefit a person with special needs, we encourage you to reach out. Call (830) 742-0538 or contact us online to schedule a consultation with our San Antonio special needs lawyers today.

Special Needs Trusts

The Special Needs Trust is a very important part of every estate plan when there are potential beneficiaries who have a disability. In many cases, family members want to make a gift to the disabled person for their benefit. However, when not done properly, the gifts cause several problems. 

Under current rules, a person can be disqualified from Medicaid and Social Security Benefits if they receive more than $2,000 in assets. Creating a Special Needs Trust to accept the gifts allows the intended beneficiary to still receive the benefits of the gift without interrupting the government programs that benefit them. 

Irrevocable Special Needs Trusts

An “irrevocable living Special Needs Trust” is simply a trust that a person creates while they are still living to benefit a child with special needs now and in the future. But what does this mean in practice? This type of trust is most easily understood when broken down into parts. 

“Irrevocable” means that property and money gifted to the trust cannot be recovered by the person making the gift. Anything put in the trust becomes owned by the trust and held for the benefit of the beneficiary. 

“Living” means that the trust is created during the grantor’s lifetime and becomes its own entity. This means it will have a separate tax ID number and file its own tax return should it earn any income. 

“Special needs” means that it is set up for the benefit of a person with special needs with the proper provisions to ensure that the person is not disqualified from government benefits. Finally, “trust” means that there is property held and used for the benefit of a beneficiary and managed by a trustee.

The irrevocable living Special Needs Trust can work great for people who foresee that others may also want to leave assets to the person whom they intend to benefit. Our team at Weisinger Law Firm can help you set this trust up now so that you can let family and friends know where to make the gifts without disqualifying the person from government benefits. 

Testamentary Special Needs Trusts

A “testamentary Special Needs Trust” is included in a last will and testament. In these situations, the last will and testament should state that the person with special needs shall not receive any property outright but that it should all be held and administered according to the Special Needs Trust.

The testamentary Special Needs Trust does not become active until the Last Will and Testament has been admitted to probate. At that time, the executor can establish the trust, obtain the tax identification number for the trust, and deposit property into the trust. The named trustee will then take over the management of the trust property. Our San Antonio special needs attorneys can help you prepare and finalize the necessary estate planning documents needed to create a testamentary Special Needs Trust.