Estate Planning

The government prepares a budget. Businesses and families prepare budgets. A special needs trust should be no different.

Last month we discussed some initial things that every trustee of a special needs trust should do upon learning that the primary beneficiary has passed away. Now, we'll explore additional steps to consider when closing out the trust.

We at the Academy of Special Needs Planners (ASNP) are pleased to announce that California special needs planning attorney Kevin Urbatsch has joined our Advisory Board.

An alternative to individual special needs trusts are "pooled trusts," which pool the resources of many beneficiaries. Becoming part of one may have advantages, depending on the situation.

A friend or relative should never sign anything for a person who lacks capacity unless he has authority to act on behalf of the incapacitated person.

One type of expense that a special needs trust has been able to cover is reimbursing family members for their costs when they travel to visit the trust beneficiary (the person with special needs). Due to a recent rule...

If you don't know one trustee who knows all there is to know about caring for a person with special needs, you may want to consider setting up a care committee for your special needs trust.

One question that typically comes up when an attorney is drafting a special needs trust for a beneficiary whose disability may end at some point is whether the attorney can write a clause into the special needs trust stating that...

In almost all cases where a parent will leave funds at death to a child with special needs, this should be done in the form of a trust. Trusts set up for the care of a child with special needs...