When we created your Special Needs Trust (also known as a Supplemental Needs Trust) all those years ago, your goal was to protect your assets in case you needed long-term care. After all, you can never have enough peace of mind and financial security for your family’s unique needs and wants—and your Trust was flexible enough to ensure that has remained the case this entire time.

Unfortunately, state and federal laws and estate planning rules and regulations are constantly in flux, and what may have been appropriate to cover your bases for long-term care two or even three years ago may not provide the same level of protection today. This is yet another example of why it may be time to update your Special Needs Trust sooner rather than later. Keeping your Trust updated is essential to ensuring your wants, needs, and long-term goals align with current laws. 

What Has Changed with Special Needs Trusts?

Medicaid recently changed its rules. In simple terms, the assets within your Special Needs Trust are now considered “available resources.” In other words, your once-protected money would need to be used for your care BEFORE you can qualify for Medicaid assistance. If you recall, Texas residents have relied on a straightforward strategy to protect assets from Medicaid for many years: gift the assets to someone else, wait 90 days, and then have that person establish a Special Needs Trust on their behalf. 

By doing so, those assets were excluded from Medicaid eligibility calculations. 

They also did not have to be repaid if you were to pass away. Things are much different now, so if you choose to do nothing, you would be forced to deplete your assets before becoming eligible for Medicaid assistance.

The Good News: There Is Time to Make Adjustments

If your Special Needs Trust was set up under the old guidelines, we can review the language and update it to comply with the new regulations while also exploring Asset Protection Trust options that better protect your financial interests moving forward. 

When we design estate plans for our clients, we do our very best to think of everything that matters most to them and even the things they did not know were important. The result is a set of thorough legal documents designed to protect you and your loved ones and cover life’s many ill-timed curveballs. That said, conducting an estate plan review every three years is critically important. Your needs and those of your family are fluid. Rules and regulations also change—sometimes overnight and without warning. 

While it is great that you have an estate plan in place, you must ensure it is current, expresses your wishes, and covers all your bases.

Our approach would be to do the following:

• Review your current Trust and modify it to comply with the latest Medicaid rules
• Explore Asset Protection Trust options 
• Ensure your overall estate planning strategy is still working as intended

Leigh Hilton PLLC Is Your Local Estate Planning Expert

When you have decided to discuss your estate planning needs for the first time, it is natural to wonder where you should start. The easy answer is to contact an estate planning attorney. After all, protecting everyone you love and everything you own requires proper guidance from someone who can help you make informed decisions and tailor a plan that covers you and your family’s needs from A to Z.

Call Leigh Hilton PLLC in Denton, and we will work with you to determine the best strategy for your unique situation. Proper planning of an estate helps ensure your wishes are honored. We always want to be your first call for any estate planning need.