When a child has a disability, a standard estate plan can do real harm. Cary Moss, Managing Partner at Sawyer & Sawyer, P.A. and a Florida elder law attorney with nearly three decades of experience, breaks down exactly how supplemental needs trusts work, where they fail, and what families must do to protect a disabled loved one’s benefits while still leaving them something to live on.
Cary covers the most common mistakes parents make, including cutting a disabled child out of the estate entirely or leaving funds informally to a sibling. She explains the full planning picture, from trustees and beneficiary advocates to trust protectors and guardian advocates, and why getting the legal language wrong can collapse the entire structure.
No family should wait for a crisis to start this conversation. The right plan, built now, protects everything.
In this episode, you will hear:
- Why cutting a disabled child out of an estate plan backfires, and what to do instead
- The hidden risks of leaving assets informally to a non-disabled sibling
- First-party vs. third-party special needs trusts and the drafting errors that can sink either one
- How a standalone third-party trust simplifies planning when multiple family members want to contribute
- The full planning team inside a well-built supplemental needs trust, from trustees to trust protectors to guardian advocates
- Why families should review the trust every two to three years and what life events demand an immediate update
- How to prepare for the first meeting with an attorney, including the conversations to have at home first
Resources from this Episode
https://sawyerandsawyerpa.com/special-needs-planning/
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