Special Needs Trusts: Protect Your Child's Financial Future (NOLO Special Needs Trusts)

Cover
Title Page
Table of Contents
Your Legal Companion for Special Needs Trusts
1. People Who Can Benefit From a Special Needs Trust
	People With a Permanent or Severe Disability Who Are Unable to Earn a Living
	Someone Who Might Get Better
	Someone Who Might Need a Special Needs Trust Later
	Someone Who Is Eligible for Medicare or SSDI
	Someone Who Needs Assistance Managing an Inheritance
	Alternatives to a Special Needs Trust
2. How Trustees Can (and Cannot) Use Trust Funds
	SSI Income and Resource Limits: An Overview
	Assets in the Special Needs Trust
	How Trustees Use Special Needs Trust Funds
	Exempt Resources
	Gifts of Cash
	Payments for Food or Shelter
	Valuing Gifts of Food or Shelter From Other Sources
3. Getting Money Into a Special Needs Trust
	Who Can Set Up a Special Needs Trust
	Tell Family and Friends About the Trust
	Assets You Can Put in a Special Needs Trust
	How Much Money Will Your Loved One Need?
	How to Leave Money After You Die to a Special Needs Trust
	Try to Head Off Mixing the Beneficiary’s Property With Trust Property
4. The Trustee’s Job
	The Trustee’s Basic Duties
	Working With a Guardian or Conservator
	Investing Trust Property
	Spending Trust Money for the Beneficiary
	Managing a Remainder Beneficiary’s Property
	Preserving Eligibility for SSI and Medicaid
	Paying Taxes
	Going to Court
	Letter to Trustee
5. Choosing Trustees
	An Overview of Your Options
	Picking the Ideal Trustee
	Naming the Initial Trustee
	Naming Successor Trustees
	Naming Cotrustees
	Naming a Professional or Corporate Trustee
	Using a Trust Protector or Trust Advisory Committee
	Signing Up for a Pooled Trust
6. Joining a Pooled Trust
	An Overview of Pooled Trusts
	Anticipating Your Use of a Pooled Trust
	Can You Use a Pooled Trust?
	How Pooled Trusts Work
	Joining a Pooled Trust
	What Happens When the Trust Ends
7. ABLE Accounts
	Qualifying for and Opening an ABLE Account
	Funding an ABLE Account
	Spending ABLE Account Funds
	Debit or Prepaid Cards
	Medicaid Payback
	Is an ABLE Account Right for You or Your Loved One?
8. Creating Your Special Needs Trust
	Drafting the Trust Document
	Making the Trust Legal and Effective
	Keeping the Special Needs Trust Up to Date
	Sample Special Needs Trust
9. Finalizing and Funding Your Special Needs Trust
	Making Your Trust Legal
	Taxes
	Opening the Trust’s Deposit Account
	Incorporating the Trust Into Your Estate Plan
10. Preparing a Letter of Intent
	How a Letter of Intent Helps
	Before You Write Your Letter
	What to Include in Your Letter
	After You Write Your Letter
11. Where to Get More Help
	Lawyers
	Paralegals
	Certified Financial Planners
	SSA and Medicaid Personnel
	Keeping Up to Date
	Books
Glossary
Appendix A: Letter to Trustee
	Letter to Trustee
	Managing a Special Needs Trust
	Documenting the Authority of Successor Trustees
Appendix B: Sample Letter of Intent
	Sample Letter of Intent
	Certificate of Trust
Appendix C: Using the E-Forms
	Using the RTFs
	List of Forms
Index
Book Registration