Estate planning
Special Needs Trusts that protect SSI and Medicaid for someone you love
Leaving money outright to a family member with a disability can end the benefits they rely on. A special needs trust lets you provide for them and keep their eligibility intact.
Chapter 01
Why money left outright can cost SSI and Medicaid eligibility
Many families assume the kindest thing is to leave an inheritance directly to a son, daughter, sibling or grandchild with a disability. Under the public benefits rules, that choice can backfire. Money that lands in the beneficiary's own name can cost them Supplemental Security Income and Medicaid eligibility, the benefits many families depend on, so the gift meant to help ends up replacing help they already had.
That is the problem a special needs trust is built to solve. Instead of handing the money to the beneficiary, the trust holds it and a trustee they choose manages it for their benefit. Edmund J. Gegan plans for this at his Tampa office for Florida families, and the first conversation is a free initial consultation. Call (813) 248-8900 and tell us who you are planning for.
A knitted blanket over a reading chair with a closed folder and pen on the cushion, a wooden toy on the rug
Third-party or self-settled: whose money funds the trust
Two kinds of trust come up in this work: Support Trusts and Special Needs Trusts. They are not interchangeable, and the right one depends on the beneficiary's circumstances and the benefits involved. We explain the difference in plain terms at the consultation, so you are choosing with the facts in front of you rather than guessing from a form.
The other question is where the money comes from. A third-party trust is funded by family, such as parents or grandparents, with their own assets. A self-settled trust is funded with the beneficiary's own money. The rules are not the same: a self-settled trust carries a payback to the state, to the extent public benefits were received. Knowing which kind you need at the start avoids unpleasant surprises later.
Chapter 03
Fitting the trust into the rest of your Florida plan
A trust only works if the rest of the plan points to it. Guardians, trustees and beneficiary designations all have to agree. A designation on an account that names your loved one directly sends money outright, which is exactly what the trust was meant to prevent. We check every document together so no single form undoes the others.
Edmund has practiced law since 1994, in New York first and in Tampa since 2009. He and his family were foster parents for about three years, and he still supports foster-care organizations. That is part of who he is, not a credential. The legal work stands on the plan we draw up together.
New estate planning clients complete a short questionnaire before the first meeting, which makes the design meeting more productive. Starting with it means that your free initial consultation and the design meeting that follows can focus on the decisions that matter for your family. Call (813) 248-8900 to begin, and bring any questions about SSI or Medicaid with you.
“Mr Gegan made it such an easy process.” Jennifer Chiger, Google review.