What Happens if you Don’t Plan

What Will Happen if you Don’t Plan

No Wills
No Special Needs Trusts
No Letter of Intent

No Government Benefit Planning
No Budgeting

The Good News
The government has a plan for you

The Bad News
The government has a plan for you

  • Your children will have Guardians, Trustees and Conservators appointed by the State in which they live.
  • Your estate will be distributed according to the wishes of the State, not yours.
  • If assets received in the name of the person with special needs exceeds $2000, they will be ineligible for SSI (Social Security Insurance) cash benefits and Medicaid.
  • Assets received in the name of the person with special needs are subject to immediate repayment to Medicaid for healthcare benefits previously received.
  • Medicare may be the only healthcare benefit the person with special needs receives which does not offer the same benefits as Medicaid. For example, there is no prescription benefit.
  • Assets left to others to care for the person with special needs could be lost to creditors, litigation, divorce or their death.   There is no guaranteed security or protection.
  • Support provided by others for the person with special needs could be considered income and/or assets reducing or terminating SSI and Medicaid.
  • Not all assets pass through a Will. If you fail to make the necessary beneficiary changes and designations, your life insurance, retirement plans and annuities could pass directly to your person with special needs in his or her name resulting in termination and payback for government benefits.
  • Without written information explaining the day-to-day care needs of the person with special needs and what your goals and wishes for their future care are, providers will only be able to do what they think you want not necessarily what should be done.

“Thanks to the Special Needs Trust set up by Bart Stevens for my niece, her Special Needs Trust is NOT counted as part of her assets, so she is able to receive full Social Security benefits in addition to the trust indirectly supporting her needs Many thanks!!! – Jim Adams, ASU Professor & Past President of the Greater Phoenix Autism Society

“Don’t be afraid of planning…be afraid if you don’t!”