By Kevin Urbatsch, Esq., and Jessica Jones, Esq.

A third-party special needs trust (SNT), also called a third-party supplemental needs trust, is commonly utilized to hold and administer an inheritance for a person with a disability. It can also facilitate gifts or donations to the beneficiary with a disability. It is important to note that creating an SNT is only one part of a plan for a person with a disability. Special needs planning requires a comprehensive approach to address all the needs a person with a disability requires. The authors often discuss with parents that a special needs plan is designed to create a strategy to replace everything they do for their loved ones with special needs. This generally involves planning to ensure that there is someone to make medical or personal care decisions for the loved one with a disability, a suitable living arrangement (whether private, group home, or skilled nursing), a sustainable caregiving arrangement, appropriate transportation, opportunities for social interactions, proper advocacy, and enforceable protection from predators. This article will focus on the third-party SNT, a vital element of a comprehensive special needs plan. 

From a new final regulation on basis consistency to Corporate Transparency Act updates and a federal court ruling regarding the review required to determine medical necessity under the Medicaid Act, we have recently seen significant legal developments. 

To ensure that you stay abreast of these changes, we have highlighted some noteworthy developments and analyzed how they may impact your estate planning, elder and special needs law, and business law practices.

By Edward D. Brown, JD, LLM, CPA; Andrew Bechel, JD, LLM; and Eric Kaplan, JD

Much has been written about asset protection strategies, such as offshore trusts, limited liability companies (LLCs), insurance, and exemption planning. The focus of this article is to identify which of those strategies are best suited to high-risk professionals, whose risk exposure derives from the provision of professional services (as opposed to risky investments or predators who target the megawealthy). Some of the strategies discussed below reflect ways to reduce a professional’s financial profile and accordingly, the size of the targets on their backs.