Third-party trusts
Funded by parents, grandparents or others with their own money, often through a will, living trust or beneficiary designation. No Medicaid payback is required.
Special needs trusts · Florida
Set up the right trust. Then run it the right way.
A special needs trust lets a loved one with a disability receive gifts, inheritances or settlements without losing SSI or Medicaid. We help Florida families choose and create the right trust, and help trustees administer it correctly for years to come.
Creating a special needs trust
The right type of trust depends on whose money funds it and what should happen when the beneficiary dies.
First-party trusts
Funded with the beneficiary's own money, such as an inheritance, settlement or savings, for a beneficiary under age 65. The state must be repaid for Medicaid benefits from what remains at death.
Pooled trusts
Joining a pooled trust run by a nonprofit, an option when a family has no suitable trustee or the beneficiary does not qualify for an individual first-party trust.
Funding the trust
Coordinating wills, life insurance, retirement accounts and beneficiary designations so assets reach the trust instead of the beneficiary directly.
Settlements and inheritances
Planning when a person with a disability is about to receive money, so benefits are not interrupted.
Choosing a trustee
Weighing family members, professionals and pooled trust organizations, and naming successors who can step in later.
Administering the trust
A trust only protects your loved one if it is run properly. Whether you are a parent, sibling or professional serving as trustee, these are the areas we work through with you.
Distribution guidance
Before money goes out, we help you decide whether a payment is allowed under the trust and how it may affect SSI or Medicaid.
Protecting benefits
Avoiding payments that SSI counts against the beneficiary, and planning around food and shelter costs, which can reduce SSI benefits.
Records and accountings
Setting up recordkeeping and preparing the reports and accountings required by the trust, Florida law and benefits agencies.
New trustee orientation
A clear walk-through of the trust document, your duties as trustee and the first steps to take after you are appointed.
First-party and pooled trusts
Administration of trusts funded with the beneficiary's own money, including Medicaid payback when the trust ends.
Successor trustees and termination
Changing trustees, winding down a trust after the beneficiary's death, and final distributions.
What a trustee does
Serving as trustee is an ongoing responsibility. Most of it comes down to a few core duties.
- Follow the trust document
Make distributions only for the purposes the trust allows, and for the sole benefit of the beneficiary when the trust requires it.
- Protect eligibility
Understand how each payment is treated by SSI and Medicaid before you make it.
- Invest and safeguard assets
Manage trust property prudently and keep it separate from your own money.
- Keep records and report
Document every receipt and expense, and provide the notices and accountings that are required.
About the firm
Trusts4Children is a service of Rosenkranz Law Firm, P.A., which has provided legal services to Tampa Bay families since 1991. Attorney Jack M. Rosenkranz focuses on elder law and special needs planning, including special needs trusts, guardianship and public benefits.
For broader special needs planning, including guardian advocacy and benefits, visit law4specialneeds.com. For our life-stage education series, visit transition4specialneeds.com.