Special Needs and ABLE Accounts
A Family Legacy Since 1920
• Family and Locally Owned
• Compassionate Legal Experts
• Family and Locally Owned
• Compassionate Legal Experts
Special Needs Advice You Can Trust
If you have or care for an adult, a child or grandchild who is physically disabled, mentally ill, or who has a chronic or acquired illness, you naturally have concerns about how he or she will continue to be taken care of after you no longer can take care of them. You can address those concerns now by establishing a special needs trust (also known as a supplemental needs trust) to care for him or her and to ensure that he or she will remain eligible for certain types of government assistance and benefits.
That said — a special needs trust needs to be tailored to the unique needs of your loved one and drafted properly or it will not work as it should. Lawyer Andrew Schmidt can help you do just that.
A special needs trust creates a legal and financial bubble around the person who is receiving federal SSI benefits so that person can continue to receive those benefits and at the same time benefit from your gifts or inheritances without interfering with their benefits.
An attorney is required to create and advise on these trusts. Attorney Andrew Schmidt at Schmidt & Schmidt S.C. has created as well as implemented special needs trusts for his clients or their children.
To talk about setting up a special needs trust with an experienced lawyer, call or contact
our offices today and schedule a consultation. Weekend and evening times are available by appointment. We can also meet with you in your home, in a health care facility or in another setting, if necessary. Major credit cards are accepted.
Care, Quality of Life, and Financial Security Planning
Since 1920, attorneys at Schmidt & Schmidt, S.C., have been helping people in the Wausau area and throughout North Central Wisconsin plan their estates, preserve their assets and look out for their loved ones in the process.
A properly drafted special or supplemental needs trust:
- Can include an unlimited amount of assets that are not considered countable when eligibility determinations for certain government benefits are being made
- Can take advantage of special federal laws that permit you to give your estate to your special needs family member without the worry of them losing SSI eligibility
- Can provide for needs over and above what government assistance and benefits offer
- Is its own entity and is not registered under either your or the beneficiary’s Social Security number
- Can be administered by a family member or a court-appointed trustee
- Can shield the assets you fund it with from Medicare payback obligations
In addition to special needs trusts, we can also provide assistance with conservatorships, guardianships and a number of other related estate planning tools.
What Is an ABLE Account?
While a special needs trust remains the most comprehensive option for individuals to secure the financial stability of disabled loved ones, Congress recently passed the Achieving a Better Life Experience Act. This is commonly shortened to ABLE and is an option that many people have chosen in recent years.
The act creates tax-favored accounts for children and adults whose disability meets certain criteria. Beneficiaries are restricted to one ABLE account. Since factors are largely dependent on the specific situation an individual is facing, it is important to discuss your options with a skilled legal professional. To learn more about the ABLE account or special needs trusts, we encourage you to contact
our office.
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Schmidt & Schmidt S.C.
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