San Fernando Valley Special Needs Trusts Lawyers

Helping You Protect Your Loved Ones

If you have a loved one with special needs in California, you should consider creating a special needs trust to ensure their financial stability. Transferring property to a special needs beneficiary without a special needs trust could jeopardize your loved one’s ability to receive public assistance benefits.

Our special needs trusts attorneys in the San Fernando Valley can help you ensure that your loved one maintains eligibility for government benefits. Our attorneys have over 60 years of combined experience helping clients through all the complexities of estate planning. We keep our clients’ needs and goals in mind every step of the way.

Third-Party Special Needs Trusts

A third-party special needs trust is the typical type of trust used to benefit a person with special needs. Anyone may contribute to this trust at any time. There are many different resources that can be used to fund a third-party special needs trust.

Assets typically placed in this kind of trust include:

• Family savings
• Investments in stocks and mutual funds
• Certificates of Deposit
• Military benefits
• IRAs
• Real property
• Standard government benefits

First-Party Special Needs Trust

A first-party special needs trust is used for the property of the person with special needs.

Assets could be acquired in a number of ways, including:

• Personal injury awards
• Inheritance
• Life insurance policies
• Retirement plans
• Divorce settlements

The purpose of putting these types of assets in a first-party trust is to prevent outright ownership – which would affect eligibility for government benefits – while allowing the individual to benefit from the assets.