Law Office of Arthur H. Baker III

Special Needs Trusts

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Special Needs Trusts Attorney

A special needs trust is an estate planning tool that is useful where a beneficiary is unable to handle his or her own financial affairs for a variety of reasons. At The Law Office of Arthur H. Baker III, we have over 29 years of experience in estate planning and can assist you in creating a special needs trust that will protect your, and your children's, best interests.

In the last several decades, there has been a trend toward children taking longer to become independent of their parents. They may live with parents a longer time or remain financially dependent on them well past their teenage years. In some instances, a physical or mental disability, injury or weakness to drugs, gambling or other addictions may make an individual unable to handle their financial affairs on their own.

Establishing a special needs trust allows you to provide for your children's financial needs, under the guidance and judgment of someone you trust to distribute the assets. Contact us today, and we can discuss whether a special needs trust is the right option for you to help protect your children's financial security.

What is a Special Needs Trust?

A trust is a legal entity established by agreement where the person creating the trust names beneficiaries and designates individuals to administer the trust. A special needs trust establishes the rules under which the trust will operate for payments and distributions.

A special needs trust allows you to determine who will be in charge of administering the trust to best ensure that the assets are protected from creditors, and that they are distributed under the guidance and judgment of a trusted third party.

A Special Needs Trust May Be an Option for You:

• If you are the parent of a child with a disability
• If your child is not capable of handling his or her own financial affairs due to age, a mental or physical disability
• If your child or loved one has been physically or catastrophically injured and he or she is to receive payment from person responsible for the injury. A special needs trust will protect the assets from creditors and ensure that it is distributed judiciously.
• If your child has an addiction to drugs or gambling
• If your child has inherited a large sum of money

In the latter two cases, a spendthrift trust -- a kind of special needs trust -- may be the right strategy for you. Where a large inheritance is involved, this kind of trust provides protection for the conservation of the inheritance. Rather than directly passing your assets to a child, who may not be able or ready to handle the responsibility of a large inheritance sum, the amounts are distributed according to rules you specify.

Special Needs Trusts Have the Following Benefits:

• They allow you to determine the rules for how the funds are distributed
• They protect assets from creditors
• They allow you to manage assets so that your child is not disqualified from government benefits such as Medicaid, Medicare, Social Security (SSDI and SSI) and state public assistance
• They can pay for personal expenses other than non-basic support items
• They can ensure that a person who received monetary compensation for a catastrophic injury can make the sum last. If an injured person is disqualified from government aid, he or she may be left in poverty. A trust can ensure that that there is money left over for your loved one, rather than being eaten up in medical bills

Contact The Law Office of Arthur H. Baker III for a free consultation with a Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and Morgantown, West Virginia, lawyer regarding a special needs trust and trust administration.

Free initial consultations • Home and hospital visits • Weekend and evening appointments available • Pittsburgh office located conveniently one block from the City-County Building

The Law Office of Arthur H. Baker III
Pittsburgh Office
225 Ross St, 2nd floor
Pittsburgh, PA 15219
Telephone: (412) 288-8800
Fax: (412) 391-1271

Morgantown Office
2567 University Avenue
Suite 7022
Morgantown, WV 26505
Telephone: (304) 906-8280
Fax: (412) 391-1271

Arthur H. Baker has offices in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and Morgantown, West Virginia, and serves clients throughout Southwest Pennsylvania and the Northern Panhandle of West Virginia in Allegheny County, Washington County, Beaver County, Fayette County, Westmoreland County, Butler County, Allegheny Hancock County, Brook County, Ohio County, Highland County, Wetzel County, Marshall County, Monongalia County, Marion County, Preston County, Harrison County and Taylor County.