Are you considering a special needs trust? Special trusts are not just special needs trusts, they are larger categories of trusts. They are trusts for special and specific purposes. When and why you should consider a special trust depends on your specific reasons. Some reasons to create a special trust is to inspire a beneficiary to behave a certain way to benefit from the special provisions in the trust. For one thing, you can create special trusts to handle many different aspects of a beneficiary’s life.
For example, marital issues and problems of your children may lend themselves to a special trust specifically for a child who is either going through a divorce or contemplating a divorce. Leaving discretionary distributions to that child held in a special trust, or forcing accumulation of income during a divorce of a child can create a way for parents to protect the inheritance of a child from being used up during a divorce if a parent dies while a child is divorcing.
Another way a Special Trust can be used is to provide for a child who may have substance or alcohol abuse problems. The purpose of this type of trust can be limited to paying for rehab or other medical treatment.
The mental health of a child can also play into the creation of a special trust. If you have a child for example, with a bipolar disorder, you may create a trust that keeps the funds restricted for medical use during bipolar episodes.
Talk to our lawyers for special trust planning and special needs trust questions as part of your estate plan. Our attorneys at our Woodland Hills and Glendale law offices are here to assist you with a consultation about special trusts. Call 818.340.4479 for a free consultation appointment.
By: Mina Sirkin, Special Needs Trust Attorney
