Trusts and ABLE accounts: providing for your special needs child

On Behalf of | Oct 25, 2019 | Special Needs, Disability And Long-term Care Planning |

Your special needs child’s Social Security benefits often don’t cover extra expenses that let your child live comfortably. As the parent, you buy anything your child may need to have a good quality of life. But what happens when you are no longer around?

Your child can only have a limited amount of assets to qualify for government benefits. If you want to leave your child money for expenses not covered by Social Security, you can set up a special needs trust or an ABLE account.

Special needs trusts

A special needs trust lets you leave your special needs child an inheritance without affecting government benefits. You create the trust in your name with your child as the beneficiary. It can fund any purchases for things your child needs that benefits don’t cover.

Since your child doesn’t have direct access to the assets in the trust, the government won’t count those assets towards the limit for Social Security benefits. You can make sure your child has a high quality of life while keeping them qualified for government aid.

ABLE accounts

An ABLE account can also make sure your child has financial security. An ABLE account is a savings account specifically for people with special needs. You can fund up to $15,000 per year and invest the money, letting it grow.

And like a special needs trust, an ABLE account doesn’t disqualify your child from Social Security benefits. However, the account cannot have more than $100,000 to avoid this disqualification.

Ensuring a high quality of life

As a parent of a child with special needs, you want to make sure that your child has a high quality of life. But after you’re gone, you won’t be there to buy the extra things that government benefits don’t cover. Special needs trusts and ABLE accounts make sure you can leave your child an inheritance without disqualifying government benefits.

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