D'Onofrio Law Office, P.C.

One of the most frequently aksed questions by parents whose children have disabilities or chronic illnesses is "WHAT WILL HAPPEN TO MY SPECIAL CHILD WHEN SOMETHING HAPPENS TO ME"  There are a number of different possible responses to that important question.  Parents need to be concerned with numerous issues, including future financial planning, the orderly distribution of assets to the disabled child, the preservation of governmental benefits, and the appropriateness of residential placement.

Parents should be encouraged to establish a "Special Needs Trust" to benefit their disabled child.  The Special Needs Trust differs greatly from the typical Trust in that it is designed to leave benefits to and for the benefit of a person under a disability without impairing the disabled person's continued eligibility for the receipt of governmental benefits based upon need such as Supplemental Security Income, Medicaid, subsidized housing or food stamps.

Although Special Needs Trusts have been utilized for many years, Congress first ratified and confirmed the use of the Special Needs Trust in 1993.  By creating an exception to the newly imposed ban on Medicaid Qualifying Trusts, under the omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (OBRA-93), Congress provided for the creation of Special Needs Trusts to hold assets for the benefit of a disabled or chronically ill individual.  Under the Special Needs Trust, those assets would not be deemed countable assets for the purposes of eligibility for governmental benefits.