• How Can I Protect My Assets From Medicaid and Still Maintain Control?
• What Exactly is an Asset Protection Trust?
• Asset Protection Strategies - What if I Need the Assets Back?

It may sound like a no brainer but I can not tell you how many times clients have not updated their beneficiary designations. This can create a serious problem for the child with special needs. These assets pass outside of a Will or Trust that you may have set up.

Supplemental Needs Trusts

The first step in any estate plan is to have Will and/or Trust which provide for the proper disposition of your assets upon your demise. For parents who have a child with special needs, it is highly recommended that their estate plan provide for a Supplemental Needs Trust (SNT). This Trust will be managed and administered by a Trustee for the benefit of your child with special needs while maximizing government benefits.

To join the Trust, the beneficiary or representative, must complete a Joinder Agreement, and contribute assets to the Trust. There are other specific requirements, but the Joinder Agreement provides a set of instructions to be followed so that a beneficiary can more easily meet these specific requirements.

For more information on how to join, please contact
The Center For Special Needs
Trust Administration, Inc. at
(877) 766-5331

Estate and Long Term Care Planning for You and Your Family

Effective IMMEDIATELY, New York State has "EXPANDED" Medicaid Estate Recovery.

• Life Estates
• Revocable Trusts
• Certain Irrevocable Trusts

Everyone with a Life Estate or Irrevocable Trust needs to take action to ensure that their assets are protected.

The time to act is NOW!

Read more here.

• Contact us Immediately for a Consultation
• Attend one of our Free Seminars
  • • Tue 10/11/2011 10:00am, Villa Monaco Restaurant - West Islip
    • Tue 10/18/2011 10:00am, Westbury Lobby Conference Room - Westbury
    • Thu 10/20/2011  7:00pm, Islandia Office - Vincent J. Russo & Associates - Islandia
    • Wed 10/26/2011  7:00pm, Westbury Lobby Conference Room - Westbury
• Participate in our Free Webinars

How can I leave assets to my loved ones in the
most protective way? SAFE TRUSTS
Are you concerned about your child’s marriage? Do you
want to leave assets to your child and then one day have those
assets part of a divorce proceeding? SAFE TRUSTS
Are you concerned about your child’s financial situation?
Does your child have creditor problems? Does your child have
difficulty managing finances? SAFE TRUSTS
Are you concerned because you have a family member
with special needs? Will that family member need help
with managing assets and making financial decisions? SAFE

Since your eyes met you have spent each and every moment loving, caring for, guiding, educating and protecting your child with special needs. As a parent of a child with special needs, you have been making personal, financial and health care decisions for them since birth.

As caring planners, we want to be prepared and to take advantage of all the available tools that can improve the quality of life of a client with special needs. Our objectives often include providing financial stability, maximizing government benefits, ensuring advance directives are in place and coordinating available resources in the community. This article will focus on one of the most powerful tools at our disposal – Special Needs Trusts.

Elder law attorneys meet daily with clients who are concerned about the cost of long term care and preserving their assets for their families.