| Alan R. Horvath, Attorney at Law |
| Frequently Asked Trust Questions |
| Phone: 209 754-5291 Fax: 209 754-5293 |
| ahorvathlaw@sbcglobal.net |
P.O. Box 81
596 Mountain Ranch Rd.
San Andreas, CA 95249
596 Mountain Ranch Rd.
San Andreas, CA 95249
What is a Special Needs trust?
A Special Needs Trust is a means for providing a benefit to someone on public assistance in a manner that will not
disqualify them from that assistance. Public assistance programs typically set eligibility limits on assets and
income. However, recipients are not prohibited from receiving gifts, as long as those gifts do not result in
spendable funds in the hands of the recipients, and are not being provided for the basic needs of food and
shelter.
A Trust can hold funds for the benefit of someone without that person having any control over the funds. Hence
the simple funding of the trust is not a disqualifying action. Then the trustee can make distributions for the benefit
of the person on public assistance without those distributions ever being in the hands of the individual. A simple
example would be for the trust to pay the cable bill each month.
For a person on public assistance, a Special Needs trust can make a significant positive change to the person's
overall well being by funding "luxuries" that might otherwise be simply unaffordable.
A Special Needs Trust is a means for providing a benefit to someone on public assistance in a manner that will not
disqualify them from that assistance. Public assistance programs typically set eligibility limits on assets and
income. However, recipients are not prohibited from receiving gifts, as long as those gifts do not result in
spendable funds in the hands of the recipients, and are not being provided for the basic needs of food and
shelter.
A Trust can hold funds for the benefit of someone without that person having any control over the funds. Hence
the simple funding of the trust is not a disqualifying action. Then the trustee can make distributions for the benefit
of the person on public assistance without those distributions ever being in the hands of the individual. A simple
example would be for the trust to pay the cable bill each month.
For a person on public assistance, a Special Needs trust can make a significant positive change to the person's
overall well being by funding "luxuries" that might otherwise be simply unaffordable.
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