Charlotte Special Needs Planning Lawyer

Charlotte Special Needs Planning Attorney

What would happen if you were not able to take care of your special needs child or loved one? As they become an adult, they will continue to need assistance with their finances, care and decision making. Though it seems complicated to make long-term plans for your child or loved one, a Charlotte special needs trust & planning lawyer can provide legal counsel about the legal and financial arrangements they need.

Experienced Professionals You Can Trust

The attorneys at Orsbon & Fenninger, LLP in Charlotte are experienced at providing the legal assistance you need, adding clarity and efficiency to the special needs planning process. We can take a comprehensive look at your situation and offer appropriate solutions for your concerns. We make sure that you have all the needed documents in place to make your plans official.

Guardianship

To promote your child’s safety and security, you may need to proactively plan and finalize guardianship arrangements by the time they are 18 years of age. The state of North Carolina emphasizes that guardianship arrangements be as limited as possible. While some special needs adults may only need a guardianship for financial matters, a more disabled person will need a higher level of custodianship.

How Does a Special Needs Trust Work in North Carolina?

Understanding the legal and financial intricacies of a Special Needs Trust (SNT) is an important first step to implementing an SNT for your own loved one. Although the process can be complex and detail-oriented, the Charlotte special needs trust & planning lawyers at Orsborn & Fenninger, LLP, are standing by to help ensure your trust is set up exactly how you want it.

To simplify things, think of a special needs trust as a unique legal arrangement designed to maintain, or even enhance, the quality of life for special needs individuals by providing them access to financial resources.

Generally speaking, trusts are a tool at the intersection of estate law and financial planning, allowing people a high level of control over how their assets are accessed and used, even beyond their lifetime. Special needs trusts are funds dedicated to the well-being of a particular special needs individual.

One important element that makes a special needs trust more attractive than, for example, a simpler solution like a joint bank account is that a special needs trust may allow you to bestow financial support to a special needs individual in a way that does not jeopardize their eligibility for crucial government benefits.

Establishing a special needs trust can provide an important layer of financial security for your loved ones and peace of mind for yourself by ensuring that their basic material needs can be met in a way that does not reduce their access to essential, needs-based public benefit programs.

Using Tools To Keep Them Eligible For Benefits

People lose access to certain government benefits if they hold too much money in the bank (as little as $2,000 for an individual). There are a variety of special needs trust types that can safeguard assets for your adult special needs child or loved one. Establishing a special needs trust can hold funds that a trustee uses to pay for the beneficiary’s needs while keeping them eligible for benefit programs such as:

• Social Security Disability Income (SSDI)
• Medicare
• Supplemental Security Income (SSI)

As board-certified specialists in estate planning, we are uniquely positioned to help you make fiduciary arrangements for the person you care for. By setting up funding through the special needs trust model, the assets you wish to set aside for your loved one are legally titled to the trust itself—not the special needs individual personally. This means the entrusted assets cannot be counted against the individual when the state is determining their eligibility for various benefits.

Who Qualifies for a Special Needs Trust in NC?

Determining whether a special needs trust in North Carolina is the right solution for you and your family will be a matter of individual circumstances. It is important to understand that a trust is a legal tool anyone can set up, assuming they have assets to place in trust. Because your special needs trust is not part of any federal or state program, you will not need to worry about specific eligibility requirements.

From a legal standpoint, a “special needs trust” has no particular definition, meaning it is the same as any other trust. Assets are placed in the trust and then become the legal property of that trust rather than any individual person. Specific conditions must then be met before funds are distributed to the named trustee or trustees.

While trusts can be set up for the care of special needs individuals, such as adult children with serious conditions who will have lifelong medical treatment needs, nobody involved in this process needs to demonstrate any level of financial need or disability to begin the process of establishing and funding a trust.

Let Us Help You Navigate The Process

Orsbon & Fenninger, LLP focuses on providing individualized services for clients that effectively address their legal issues. Find out more about how we can help you plan for your special needs child’s future today. Email us or call us at 704-556-9600 to schedule an initial consultation.