Special Needs Estate Planning and Administration

Special Needs Estate Planning and Administration refers to estate and long term care planning for individuals who have been disabled from birth or were injured in an accident or in the workplace.

Special Needs Estate Planning and Administration requires a working knowledge of a broad range of legal and financial issues, including Supplemental Needs Trusts, eligibility for various government benefits, estate, gift and income taxation, and guardianship issues. Effective advocacy in this area also requires a familiarity with the spectrum of disabilities that impact an individual’s ability to live independently in the community, as well as the numerous local organizations that provide care and support. We help our disabled clients and their families in many ways, from ensuring that a child with a disability always has a guardian, to ensuring that an inheritance will not disrupt an individual's continuing participation in the Medicaid program, to preserving a personal injury settlement for the particular needs of the person with the disability.

Jones Wilcenski & Pleat PLLC is a member of the Special Needs Alliance (www.specialneedsalliance.com) a national network of attorneys focusing on disability law and special needs trusts.

In this area of our practice, we:

	Draft Special Needs Trusts (Supplemental Needs Trusts) , either as part of a Will (ie a "testamentary Trust"), or during life (ie an "intervivos Trust)"
	Advise the working disabled on applicable benefit programs, such as the Medicaid Buy In Program, and developing estate plans to protect eligibility and preserve income and assets
	Represent clients in court proceedings seeking permission to establish Special Needs Trusts in cases where court approval is required
	Develop Special Needs Estate Plans for families who have children or other members with lifelong disabilities
	Assist families in establishing 17A Guardianship in the Surrogate’s Court for individuals with lifelong disabilities
	Assist families in establishing Article 81 Guardianship in the Supreme Court for adults who lack capacity
	File applications for government benefits such as Medicaid and Supplemental Security Income (SSI), and provide advice regarding the financial eligibility rules for such programs
	Advise personal injury attorneys representing permanently disabled individuals regarding the payment of Medicaid and Medicare liens, allocation of settlement proceeds, and the use of structured settlements versus lump sum payments
	Prepare annual accountings for Guardians and Special Needs Trustees
	Prepare fiduciary, gift and estate tax returns for individuals, trustees and guardians, and provide related tax advice
	Advise corporate and individual Supplemental Needs Trustees regarding trust distributions, and prepare and review annual trust accountings to determine compliance with government program rules
	Represent clients in administrative hearings before state and federal agencies involving financial eligibility issues