Special Needs Trust

Special Needs Trust Attorney in Troy

Protecting Benefits While Providing for Your Loved One

A standard will or outright inheritance can unintentionally disqualify a person with disabilities from the Medicaid or SSI benefits they depend on for medical care and daily support. Supplemental Security Income and Medicaid are means-tested programs with strict asset limits, and a direct inheritance above those thresholds can trigger a suspension of benefits before the money has been spent. A properly structured special needs trust can let a disabled individual receive meaningful financial support without jeopardizing that eligibility. At Axis Estate Planning, we help Troy families design and fund these trusts so the plan actually works when it’s needed.

Attorney Victor Veprauskas personally manages every special needs trust matter at our firm and answers client calls directly. We serve families throughout Troy and across Oakland County, with office, in-home, and virtual appointments available for families who can’t easily travel.

Ready to build a plan that protects your loved one? Call Axis Estate Planning today at (248) 290-8306 to schedule a confidential consultation with Attorney Veprauskas.

When Planning Is Absent or Incomplete, the Beneficiary Pays the Price

Even well-intentioned gifts from relatives can disqualify a beneficiary if they aren’t structured to flow into a properly drafted trust. A trustee who doesn’t understand distribution rules can unintentionally reduce or suspend benefits through a single incorrect payment. In Michigan, a special needs trust generally must be established before the beneficiary’s 65th birthday to qualify under SSI rules. Assets held in a correctly structured trust, by contrast, aren’t counted as personal resources for purposes of Medicaid or SSI eligibility. These details matter because when something goes wrong, it’s the person the plan was meant to protect who bears the consequences.

Full-Service Special Needs Trust Planning in Troy

Many firms stop at drafting the document. We don’t. Drafting a trust without funding it leaves the plan incomplete: assets must be formally transferred into the trust to provide the intended protection. We guide clients through the full trust funding process, confirming the trust holds what it’s supposed to hold before it’s ever needed. We also coordinate with public benefits programs to help evaluate continued eligibility after the trust is established.

We integrate each special needs trust with the broader family estate plan so that gifts or inheritances from parents, grandparents, or siblings don’t accidentally disrupt benefits down the line. Attorney Veprauskas brings more than 20 years of practical experience in estate and elder law to this work, along with a background in litigation and commercial law that shapes our approach to asset protection and dispute prevention. He has been selected to Michigan Super Lawyers for multiple consecutive years, a distinction the program awards to no more than five percent of attorneys in the state.

Schedule a Consultation with Attorney Veprauskas

Every family’s situation is different, and the right plan depends on your loved one’s current benefits, the source of the funds, and your long-term goals. Attorney Veprauskas personally handles each matter from the initial conversation through completion, giving you direct access to the attorney working on your case at every step.

Appointments are available in our Troy office, at your home, or virtually. Call Axis Estate Planning at (248) 290-8306 to speak with Attorney Veprauskas and begin building a plan that can help protect your loved one’s benefits and their future.

Types of Special Needs Trusts in Michigan

The right trust structure depends on where the money is coming from, which benefits the individual receives, and what the family hopes to accomplish long term. Michigan law recognizes several approaches, each with distinct rules and consequences.

First-Party Special Needs Trust
Funded with assets belonging to the individual with special needs, such as a personal injury settlement or an inheritance already received directly. A parent, grandparent, legal guardian, or court typically establishes this type of trust, and under the Special Needs Trust Fairness Act of 2016, a mentally competent individual with a disability may also establish their own. One important distinction: any funds remaining at the beneficiary’s death are subject to Medicaid payback before passing to other heirs.

Third-Party Special Needs Trust
Funded by parents, grandparents, or other relatives for the benefit of the individual. Because the assets never belonged to the beneficiary, remaining funds at death aren’t subject to Medicaid payback and can pass to other heirs or to charity. This is a common structure for families doing advance planning.

Pooled Trust
Administered by a nonprofit organization, a pooled trust combines assets from multiple beneficiaries for investment purposes while maintaining separate accounts for each individual. This may be appropriate when a court is involved or when the trust balance is modest.

Planning Mistakes That Can Cost Your Loved One Their Benefits

Families trying to protect a loved one’s benefits often turn to informal solutions that create serious gaps. Understanding where these approaches fall short can help you see why a properly structured trust may be a more reliable path.

Disinheritance: Intentionally leaving nothing to the beneficiary preserves benefit eligibility in the short term, but government programs don’t cover every necessity or quality-of-life expense. The beneficiary is left without supplemental resources.
Sibling promise: Relying on a sibling to informally provide for the beneficiary after inheriting the estate creates no legal obligation and carries real risk if the sibling divorces, becomes insolvent, or dies before the beneficiary.
Direct inheritance: Leaving assets outright above SSI and Medicaid thresholds can trigger a loss of benefits, often depleting the inheritance on care costs before the programs are reinstated.
Failing to fund: Drafting a trust document without transferring assets into it means the trust provides no actual protection at the time of the family member’s death.

What a Special Needs Trust Can Pay For

A special needs trust is designed to supplement government benefits, not replace them. Distributions must be managed carefully to avoid covering items that public programs are already obligated to provide, which is one reason trustee selection matters so much. The trustee must understand both the beneficiary’s needs and the distribution rules that protect ongoing eligibility.

When distributions are handled correctly, trust funds can cover a wide range of supplemental expenses that improve quality of life without displacing benefits:

Therapies and medical equipment not covered by Medicaid
Education and job training
Recreation, entertainment, and travel
Transportation and vehicle modifications
Personal care items and technology
Companions or guardians

Assets held in a properly structured special needs trust are generally protected from creditors, which can help preserve them for the beneficiary’s long-term care and support.

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