Don't Give Directly To Special Needs Relatives

, By Michael Gilfix

Give, instead, to their special needs trusts. But first make sure the trust is drafted properly

By Michael Gilfix

Often, grandparents, aunts, uncles, godparents and the like want to help disabled relatives by leaving them some money. That's why every attorney familiar with drafting special needs trusts (SNTs) advises his clients (typically the parents of the disabled child) to tell friends and relatives about the SNT they've established for their child, and to let them know any contributions they wish to make should go into this trust. That way, the disabled individual's access to public benefits won't be jeopardized.

But funneling all donors' money into one trust can create other difficulties — which attorneys should address when drafting SNTs.

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