A well-meant gift can accidentally take away the help someone depends on.
The Situation
A Naples family wanted to make sure a loved one with special needs, someone who relies on government assistance like SSI or Medicaid, was included and provided for in their estate plan, just like everyone else in the family.
The Hidden Trap
Many need-based government benefits come with strict asset limits. A direct inheritance, even a modest one, can push a beneficiary over that threshold, and the gift meant to help them ends up disqualifying them from the very benefits they depend on.
What It Costs
Depending on how it’s discovered, a family can lose critical benefits for a loved one entirely, or have to spend down an inheritance quickly and inefficiently just to requalify, money that could have been managed thoughtfully instead.
| The Fix: A Special Needs Trust
A properly drafted special needs trust lets you provide for a loved one (covering things benefits don’t) without counting against the asset limits that protect their eligibility. It supplements their care instead of replacing it. |
The Lesson
Leaving assets directly to someone who receives government assistance is rarely the right structure, even when the intention is generous and loving. The right planning tool lets your gift help, instead of accidentally hurting, the person you meant to protect.
| If your family includes a loved one with special needs or government benefits, this is worth planning for carefully. Schedule a virtual consultation with Loughlin Law, P.A., serving Naples and all of Florida. |
