Planning for adulthood with a disability
A child's eighteenth birthday is a natural moment to look ahead. For a family that includes someone with a disability, it is an opportunity to review financial support, benefits and decision-making arrangements together.
A supplemental needs trust can be established earlier, or later when appropriate....
An ABLE account alongside a trust
A family planning for someone with a disability may find that two tools work well together: A supplemental needs trust for longer-term support and an ABLE account for qualified spending and savings.
The choice begins with what the beneficiary needs and how they prefer to...
Making thoughtful trust distributions
A supplemental needs trust can make room for opportunities, comfort and independence. For the trustee, the practical question is how to use the money well while accounting for the beneficiary's public benefits.
The answer depends on the trust, the benefits involved, what is purchased and...
ABLE accounts and everyday independence
An ABLE account gives an eligible person with a disability a tax-advantaged way to save and pay for qualified expenses. It can support everyday independence while accounting for the rules of means-tested benefits.
Florida's program is ABLE United. An account may be useful on...
Third-party supplemental needs trusts
When you want to provide for someone with a disability, a third-party supplemental needs trust can give your gift a lasting purpose. A trustee manages the property for the beneficiary under terms designed to work with applicable means-tested benefits.
"Third-party" describes where the money comes...
An inheritance that supports independence
An inheritance can give someone you love more choices, more support and greater security. If that person has a disability and receives means-tested benefits, planning the way the inheritance arrives can help those resources work together.
A supplemental needs trust, also known as a special...