Special Needs Trusts

Subscribe to Special Needs Trusts

Governor Andrew Cuomo recently signed legislation which amends New York law to allow mentally-competent disabled individuals under age 65 to establish a first-party Special Needs Trust without court petition.

In the past, when an individual with special needs had assets in his or her name which precluded his or her eligibility for government benefits, a…

A Third-Party Special Needs Trust (also referred to as a “Supplemental Needs Trust”) allows parents or other relatives of a special needs beneficiary to dedicate assets to the beneficiary by gift or inheritance without affecting his or her eligibility to receive government benefits and without any need for reimbursement of benefits that are provided by…

Divorce is an unfortunate reality for many couples and can be especially complicated and heartbreaking when children are involved.  Parents of children with special needs, however, face additional challenges.  While custody and child support issues are typically addressed in divorce proceedings, parents of children with special needs and their divorce attorneys must also consider, among…

President Obama just signed a new law that allows First Party Special Needs Trusts to be established by mentally competent individuals for their own benefit.  This is a major “fix” to the current law which only allows First Party Special Needs Trusts to be set up by a parent, grandparent, guardian or a court.  For…