10 THE QUEENS COURIER • MARCH 18, 2021 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM
POWER OF YOUR ATTORNEY
PLANNING FOR CHILDREN
WITH SPECIAL NEEDS
BY JENNIFER B. CONA, ESQ.,
CONA ELDER LAW
Estate planning is important for
everyone, but for families with a
special-needs child, it is nothing
short of critical. As a child with
special needs approaches age 18,
families must prepare for continued
decision-making for that child and
secure legal authority to do so.
Understanding the types of specialneeds
trusts and the guardianship
proceeding available for individuals
with special needs is the best place
to start to protect your loved ones.
Preparing a Last Will and Testament
parents of a child with special
needs. It is important to make sure
that your child’s inheritance is
directed into a special-needs trust
(also called a supplemental-needs
needs trusts permit individuals with
special needs to retain funds from
an inheritance without eliminating
Third-party special-needs trusts are
established by an individual such
as a parent or grandparent with
or grandchild with special needs.
A third-party special-needs trust
may be established and funded
during the parents’/grandparents’
lifetime (a living trust) or may
be established in a Last Will and
Testament (a testamentary trust)
and therefore not created or funded
until the death of the parent/
grandparent. In either case, the
creation or funding of the thirdparty
special-needs trust has no
another individual’s assets are used
to fund the third-party trust, there
is no payback requirement to the
state. Instead, any assets remaining
in the trust at the time the person
with special needs passes away
may be inherited by other family
can be established by a parent,
grandparent, legal guardian, or the
special-needs person themselves (if
they have capacity) under the age of
this trust is funded with the assets
of the person with
special needs,
such as lawsuit
proceeds, retroactive government
was left outright to them. The
trust must be a payback trust and
therefore any funds remaining in
the trust upon the death of the
special-needs person must be
paid back to the government as
reimbursement for government
Parents of children with special
needs must plan for the child’s
care beyond the age of 18. If
parents wish to continue to make
important decisions for their
child after age 18, such as medical
care, financial, and residential
placement decisions, they must
become the legal guardian of the
child. A petition to become the
guardian in this case is typically
and is appropriate for children
with intellectual or developmental
disabilities. An Article 17A
Guardianship covers most decisions
that are usually made by a parent
for a child, including healthcare and
appoint a guardian of the person,
the property, or both.
For more information on planning
for your child with special needs,
join us for our free webinar on
Wednesday, March 3 at 10 a.m.
www.schnepsmedia.com/webinars/.
Jennifer B. Cona, Esq. is the Founder
and Managing Partner of Cona Elder
Law PLLC. Cona Elder Law is an
in the areas of elder law, estate
to elder law, providing support
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