A person that suffers from a disability or other impairment may be unable to work to support themselves. Not surprisingly, many individuals will want to ensure that their disabled loved one's needs are met in the event of the untimely passing of the provider or caretaker. Supplemental trusts can be a highly effective option for these situations.

Why Would You Need To Establish A Supplemental Needs Trust?

While your disabled loved one may qualify for a range of government benefits due to their disability, there are many expenses that may not be covered by these benefits. In these situations, your loved one could be without an option for meeting an essential need or addressing an emergency. A supplemental trust will be able to provide benefits and regular payments to disabled individuals so that they will have additional money to support themselves with something other than their basic government benefits.

Will The Income From The Trust Impact Benefits?

Unfortunately, many of the benefits that your loved one will receive are based on income. As a result, individuals that exceed the income threshold for these benefits may find themselves unable to qualify. This is a key advantage that can come with utilizing a supplemental trust for your disabled loved one. When these trusts are used, the trustee will be able to adjust and set the amount that your loved one is receiving so that they will avoid accidentally breaking the benefits limits. Additionally, the trust will be considered a different entity than the disabled person. As a result, the assets that are transferred to it will not be counted as the disabled individual's income.

Do You Have To Hire An Attorney To Create A Supplemental Needs Trust?

Individuals may be able to complete the documents to form a supplemental trust on their own. however, there are many mistakes that can be made during this process, and these mistakes have the potential to leave your disabled loved one exposed. Unfortunately, the person that created the trust may not be alive or otherwise able to correct these mistakes. Having an attorney assist you with creating a supplemental needs trust can ensure that this is done correctly so that the trust will be able to work as intended when your loved one needs it. Luckily, the costs for having an attorney represent you throughout this process will not be as high as most people assume so that you can affordably receive the legal advice you need for this complex task.

For more information, reach out to a company like Life's Plan Inc.