Denver Special Needs Trust Attorneys

Thousands of Colorado citizens live with a mental or physical disability that seriously impairs their ability to manage their daily affairs. Their medical needs and other long-term care needs become a constant source of concern for parents and other family members who care about them. There are concrete steps you can take to ensure the immediate and long-term well-being of your disabled loved one.

Perhaps you have been diagnosed with a degenerative illness such as multiple sclerosis, Parkinson's disease, dementia or Alzheimer's. You can begin long-term care planning now to ensure your care needs are met and medical treatment is in line with your wishes.

At the Denver elder law firm of Chayet & Danzo, LLC, skilled and experienced Colorado disability planning attorneys provide thoughtful legal advice and guidance for disabled adults, children and their family members. Attorneys at our firm are members of the Academy of Special Needs Planners, the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys, and the Denver Estate Planning Council, with extensive experience in special needs planning.

To learn more about long-term planning in response to illness or disability, contact our Denver office [Link to Contact Us] to arrange a free consultation.

Public and Private Benefits

You or your family member may be eligible for a variety of private or public benefits to assist with funding for medical care, nursing services and general living expenses. This may include private health insurance, long-term care insurance, SSI, Medicare or Medicaid.

Medicaid frequently becomes the primary source of payment for long-term care, but Medicaid has many rules that govern eligibility that change frequently. While providing essential support, Medicaid benefits tend to meet subsistence needs; rarely is it an adequate solution to address all of an incapacitated person's needs. There are a variety of Trusts available to make life more comfortable. These include:

• Special Needs Trusts
• Income Trusts
• Medicare Set-Aside Accounts (MSA)
• Third-Party Discretionary Trusts
• Pooled Trusts

A Special Needs Trust

The Special Needs Trust is designed to promote an individual's comfort and happiness without sacrificing Medicaid eligibility. Special Needs Trusts can be used to pay for medical and dental expenses, annual independent check-ups, necessary or desirable equipment (such as specially equipped vans), training and education, insurance, transportation, and essential dietary needs. If the Trust is sufficiently funded, the beneficiary can also receive electronic equipment and appliances, computers, vacations, movies, payments for a companion, clothing and other self-esteem enhancing and quality-of-life expenses.

Special Needs Trusts need not be inflexible or generic; they can be customized to your loved one's particular needs. However, in order to fine-tune a Special Needs Trust, it needs to be a Revocable Trust, not an Irrevocable Trust.

At Chayet & Danzo, LLC, we regularly work with families to create Special Needs Trusts. We understand how Trusts operate over time. This allows us to craft Trusts that will grow with the client, allowing for evolving needs to dictate the Trust's provisions. Some types of Special Needs Trusts require a government “pay-back” provision so that any money remaining in the Trust is paid to the government upon the person's death. However, this is not always the case. Some Trusts can go to other family members. We know the difference and can save families hundreds of thousands of dollars.

At Chayet & Danzo, LLC, our goal is to help our clients understand all of their options for funding long-term care. We ease the process of applying for disability benefits and ensure our clients' care choices are implemented.

We can advise you on how to obtain care in your home or long-term care that does not jeopardize other public or private benefits. We also provide counsel to trustees of Special Needs Trusts to ensure that the Trusts are administered properly from funding to distribution, including seeking approval of the Trust entity by the governing state or federal agency.

Contact a Denver Special Needs Trust Lawyer

If you are interested in learning more about financial planning for disability care through a Special Needs Trust or other mechanism, contact a Denver Special Needs Trust lawyer at our firm. We also assist families in probate court with guardianships and conservatorships.