Links to Service Descriptions

• Special Needs Trust

• Settlement Trusts

• Family Law Matters

• Personal Injury & Work Comp Settlements

• Pooled Trust

• Medicare Set Aside Trusts

• ABLE Accounts

• Minor Children

• Trust Administration

• Fiduciaries

A trust created pursuant to federal law for the benefit of persons who are under the age of 65 who are disabled. If the trust is established and implemented correctly, any assets placed in the trust do not count for purposes of needs based public benefit programs such as Supplemental Security Income (SSI) and Medical Assistance (MA – Minnesota’s Medicaid program). There are also special rules regarding these trusts for individuals living in public housing or who are veterans. I specialize in drafting these trusts to meet the specific needs of the person with the disability.

Settlement trusts are an excellent tool for managing a client’s settlement when public benefits are not an issue or when the beneficiary is a minor. These trusts are useful to avoid rapid dissipation of the settlement or for wealth management/estate tax reasons. I draft settlement trusts specifically tailored to a personal injury victim’s needs and goals.

I work with family law attorneys to assist them and their clients to advise on terms for marital dissolution settlements involving children and adults with disabilities who rely on public benefits such as Medical Assistance and SSI to meet basic needs. My goal is to craft solutions that protect spousal maintenance and child support and minimize the impact on government benefits. I am sometimes called in by mediators or judges to provide objective information relevant to the case. I advise regarding the need for court establishment of certain trusts, whether or not to direct maintenance into a special needs trust and work with the family law attorneys to get necessary court orders.

I consult with trial attorneys about how best to structure settlements if the injured person will need (or may need) public benefits such as Medical Assistance, Social Security benefits, or public housing to meet basic needs. We like to be involved early to help all parties and their counsel develop a plan for protecting the settlement proceeds and maximizing government benefits. I also help claimants and dependents to explore alternatives to special needs trusts and structured settlements. If a trust is required, I advise regarding the need for court approval or establishment of certain trusts and work in conjunction with the trial lawyers to get proper approval of the settlement.

I advise personal injury and workers compensation attorneys about protecting Medicare Set Asides by embedding them in special needs or pooled trusts so as to maintain needs-based government benefit eligibility and as well as future Medicare benefits.

I advise individuals as to whether or not joining a pooled trust is an option for them and if it is, we prepare the necessary documentation to establish a pooled trust sub-account and to obtain court approval, if necessary.

THE MINNESOTABLE Plan, which became a reality in the winter of 2017, is now up and running. Individuals who are living with a disability that began prior to age 26 (“eligible individuals”) may establish and fund an ABLE account. ABLE accounts can be used instead of or in addition to a traditional special needs trust or pooled trust, and may be a perfect vehicle to complement a third party supplemental needs trust.

An ABLE account allows eligible individuals and their loved ones to set aside money — currently, as much as $15,000 annually per beneficiary — up to a total savings of $425,000 ($100,000 if the person is receiving SSI) and pay no taxes on that money’s growth as long as it is used for qualified disability expenses (QDEs). QDEs include any expenses related to the individual’s blindness or disability, including education, housing, transportation, employment training and support, assistive technology and personal support services, health, prevention and wellness, financial management and administrative services, legal fees, expenses for oversight and monitoring, and funeral and burial expenses. If distributions are made for non-qualified expenses, the eligible individual’s eligibility for government programs may be affected.

I can help you establish a MINNESOTABLE Plan account and explain how to use it to optimize program benefits.

I assist parents to qualify children for Medical Assistance; establishing guardianships/conservatorships for children when they reach the age of 18; and counseling on options to protect income and assets once they turn 18, particularly as children with disabilities move toward adulthood and/or independent living.

I represent trustees as they administer supplemental, settlement, or special needs trusts by advising on whether or not a requested distribution is permissible in light of the particular public benefit the client is receiving; preparing annual accountings for submission to the court or to the Department of Human Services State Recovery Unit; by filing necessary information with the Social Security Administration for SSI recipients, the county agency for Medical Assistance recipients, and the housing authorities if the client is residing in public housing; and by appealing or resolving adverse decisions regarding the status of the trust and the individual’s eligibility.

I help persons with disabilities and the elderly locate agents (fiduciaries) to act as health care agent, attorney-in-fact, guardian, conservator, representative payee, or trustee. Identification of an appropriate fiduciary to manage a trust beneficiary’s needs is critical. We make sure the trustee, if it is a professional trustee, is suitable to the type of trust being created.