When someone you love has a disability, planning for the future comes with an extra question: how do you leave them something without costing them the benefits they rely on? Supplemental Security Income (SSI) and Medicaid have strict asset limits, so an inheritance left the wrong way can end eligibility. Sawyer & Sawyer, P.A. helps Ocoee families plan around those rules with supplemental needs trusts and the documents that go with them.
How a Supplemental Needs Trust Works
A supplemental needs trust, also called a special needs trust, holds money for your loved one without counting as their own asset. A trustee you choose uses it for things government benefits don’t cover, such as:
- Education and training
- Transportation, including buying and maintaining a vehicle
- Vacations, recreation and hobbies
- Medical care and supplies not otherwise covered
- Personal items such as a computer or furniture
A third-party trust is funded by parents, grandparents or other family. It can stand alone or be built into a will or living trust. A first-party trust holds assets that already belong to the person with a disability, such as an inheritance or a settlement, and must repay Medicaid when that person passes away. Which one fits depends on where the money comes from.
Planning Ahead for Adulthood
When a child with a disability turns 18, parents no longer have automatic authority to make medical, financial or legal decisions for them. Depending on your child’s abilities, the answer may be a power of attorney and health care surrogate, a guardian advocate, or a guardianship. We’ll help you decide what fits.
Special Needs Planning in Ocoee
Census figures put the share of Ocoee residents with a disability at about 1 in 10. If you’re planning for one of them, the wording of a supplemental needs trust matters, because a trust only protects benefits when it’s drafted to the rules.
Some drafting mistakes can make the whole trust fail. Naming the person with a disability as their own trustee or co-trustee gives them control, so the assets are counted as theirs. And standard trust wording that pays for “health, education, maintenance and support” works in an ordinary estate plan but is disqualifying in a supplemental needs trust.
If you already have a trust, or a will that leaves something to a loved one with a disability, it’s worth having it reviewed. We read the wording closely and recommend changes where it could put benefits at risk.
Figures: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020–2024 5-year estimates.
From Our Podcast: Don’t Wait Until an Emergency: Planning for 18-Year-Olds
Cary Moss and Tom Moss are parents themselves, so they speak from experience when Life, Legacy & Wealth turns to the paperwork a child needs at 18. A detail worth carrying into special needs planning: name both a primary and a backup fiduciary across all of the documents. They also share why they had their own son’s paperwork done the moment he turned 18, rather than waiting.
Why Ocoee Families Work With Sawyer & Sawyer
Sawyer & Sawyer, P.A. is a family firm that has served Central Florida since 1994. We treat every client as an extension of our family, and we focus on people before the paperwork.
- Cary L. Moss, Esq., Managing Partner. Concentrates on estate settlement, probate, trust administration, long-term care planning and estate planning. Served five years on the Board of Directors of the Academy of Florida Elder Law Attorneys, including a term as president.
- Thomas P. Moss, Esq., Senior Attorney. Focuses on estate planning, guardianship and estate settlement. Former Co-Chair of the Orange County Bar Association’s Estate, Guardianship and Trust Law Committee.
Our office at 8913 Conroy Windermere Road in Orlando is about 20 minutes from Ocoee.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can we set up a supplemental needs trust now, even if our child is young?
Yes. Many parents create a stand-alone supplemental needs trust now. It allows them to name the stand-alone trust as the beneficiary in their Will or Revocable Trust. Additionally, grandparents and other relatives can then leave gifts to the trust as well.
Can I name my loved one directly on my life insurance policy?
That usually backfires. When a disabled loved one is named as the direct beneficiary of a life insurance policy or in a will, the payout counts as their own resource. It can push them over the $2,000 limit and end their SSI and Medicaid, and rebuilding eligibility is much harder. Naming a supplemental needs trust instead keeps those benefits intact.
Can the trustee ever make a payment that reduces benefits?
Sometimes. What the trust can pay for starts with the wording of the trust document, and in general it pays for things government benefits don’t already cover. A well-drafted trust also gives the trustee flexibility to decide whether a payment is worth a temporary reduction in benefits if it meaningfully improves your loved one’s quality of life.
Related Reading
- When Good Intentions Aren’t Enough: Protecting a Disabled Loved One’s Future
- The Day Your Child Turns 18, Your Legal Authority Ends
- How Can I Ensure that My Children or Dependents Are Taken Care Of?
Other Services in Ocoee
Estate Planning · Probate · Trust Administration · Guardianship · Medicaid Planning · Ocoee
Supplemental Needs / Special Needs Planning Across Central Florida
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Directions to Our Office From Ocoee
Talk to a Special Needs Planning Attorney Serving Ocoee
Call (407) 909-1900 or send us a message to set up a consultation. Our office is open Monday through Thursday, 9 AM to 5 PM, and Friday, 9 AM to 12 PM.