SPECIAL NEEDS PLANNING IN CONNECTICUT AND NEW YORK

Whether your loved one with special needs is an adult or a child, John can help your family.  John will work as an advocate for your loved one throughout his or her life: from on-going decision making, applying for Supplemental Security Income and Medicaid, to setting up trusts.  Setting up a Special Needs Trust can be done during a persons lifetime or through a Will.  This Trust can reduce the strain on the rest of the family as it cares for a loved one with special needs.

Special Needs Plans

Special Needs plans help preserve government benefits while having loved ones cared for in all areas of their life: financial, educational and medical, and most importantly, their emotional and personal needs in the future.

Parents and family members of special needs children often live in fear and are haunted by the following questions: How do I make sure my child with special needs will be taken care of when I’m gone?  Will government programs be interrupted when I die?  John can help mitigate those risks, allay those fears, and put in place strategies to make sure your loved one is taken care of.

John combines superior knowledge and experience with kindness, compassion and care.  He helps your loved one and the Family.  These are difficult times and need a soft hand.

Connecticut and New York have some unique laws so the results can be slightly different if you live in Easton or North Salem.

What are Special Needs Trusts?

Under means-tested benefit programs like Medicaid and Supplemental Security Income (SSI), disabled people can only qualify for benefits if they have no more than about $2,000 in countable assets.

Special needs trusts allow disabled people to receive the benefit of trust money without being disqualified from receiving Medicaid and SSI. With a special needs trust, the money can be used to pay for expenses that are not covered by Medicaid or SSI without reducing the benefits that the beneficiary would otherwise be eligible to receive.

Special needs trusts may be established using assets of family members or other third parties or using the assets of the disabled person.

In December of 2016, the Senate approved H.R. 34, a law which permits a disabled person to create their own special needs trusts.  Prior to this, only a third party trust could be established.

Elder and Special Needs Attorney

Elder and Special Needs Attorney, John Sweeney, a member of Sweeney Legal, LLC,  provides legal counsel to businesses and families in the Fairfield, Connecticut area, including the communities of  Bridgeport, Bethel, Brookfield, Danbury, Darien, Easton, Fairfield, Greenwich, New Canaan, Newtown, Norwalk, Redding, Ridgefield, Stamford, Weston, Westport and Wilton.  He is also licensed in New York serving Westchester County including the towns of Bedford, Lewisboro, Mount Kisco, North Salem, Pound Ridge, and Somers.