Special Needs Trust Overview

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when we talk about special needs

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planning we’re talking about planning

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for the care and needs of family members

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or loved ones who have disabilities

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in Illinois and in New York there are

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robust government programs under the

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Medicaid Department that provide a lot

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of really great services for family

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members and loved ones who have

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disabilities so these Services include

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day programs Career Training Residential

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Care lots of really great things that

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can help someone who has a disability

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live their most independent

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healthiest happiest most comfortable

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life with as much dignity as possible in

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order to become eligible for those

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programs

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folks who have disabilities have to have

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under a certain threshold of assets

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so what we do is in Special Needs

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planning for anyone who has property in

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excess of that threshold we can use

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something called a Special Needs Trust

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to transfer those assets into an

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irrevocable trust so that they won’t be

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taken into consideration when Medicaid

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is determining whether or not someone

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with a disability is eligible for

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benefit for benefits under those

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programs or not