Special Needs Planning Attorney Denver
Meurer & Potter Law Office, Denver, Colorado
If you are the parent or caregiver of a child or adult with a disability, the question that keeps you awake at night is simple: What happens when I’m no longer here? Without proper planning, a well-intentioned inheritance can disqualify your loved one from the SSI, Medicaid, housing assistance, and other government benefits they depend on for daily survival.
At Meurer & Potter, P.C., our special needs planning attorneys in Denver create trusts and estate plans specifically designed to provide financial support for individuals with disabilities without jeopardizing their eligibility for public benefits. We’ve been helping Colorado families navigate this specialized area of law since 1991.
Call 303-991-3544 for a free consultation about special needs planning.
What Is Special Needs Planning?
Ensuring a Lifetime of Dignity, Care, and Support for Your Loved One
Special needs planning is the process of arranging your legal, financial, and personal affairs to ensure a disabled family member is cared for throughout their lifetime—especially after the primary caregiver can no longer provide support. It goes beyond standard estate planning because government benefit programs like SSI and Medicaid have strict income and asset limits. A direct inheritance or gift can push your loved one over those limits, resulting in a loss of benefits that are difficult or impossible to restore.
Special needs planning strategies include establishing a Special Needs Trust (also called a Supplemental Needs Trust) to hold assets for the beneficiary’s benefit without affecting eligibility, naming the trust—not the individual—as the beneficiary in your will, life insurance policies, and retirement accounts, establishing guardianship or conservatorship for disabled adults who turn 18 but cannot make independent decisions, writing a Letter of Intent that describes the individual’s daily needs, preferences, medical history, and care instructions for future caregivers, and coordinating with government benefit rules to ensure the trust’s terms comply with SSI and Medicaid regulations.
What a Special Needs Trust Can Pay For
A properly drafted special needs trust can pay for supplemental needs—things that SSI and Medicaid do not cover. This includes personal care attendants and companion services, education and vocational training, recreation, travel, and entertainment, computers, electronics, and adaptive technology, vehicle purchase and modification, home modifications for accessibility, clothing, furniture, and household items, and medical care not covered by Medicaid (dental, vision, therapies). The trust cannot pay for food or shelter (classified as “in-kind support and maintenance” by SSA) without reducing the beneficiary’s SSI payment. Navigating these rules requires an attorney who understands both federal SSA regulations and Colorado HCPF policies.
Protect your loved one’s future. Call 303-991-3544 for a free consultation.
Types of Special Needs Trusts
Third-Party Special Needs Trust: Funded by someone other than the beneficiary, typically a parent or grandparent through their will or life insurance. Because the funds never belonged to the beneficiary, there is no Medicaid payback requirement upon the beneficiary’s death. This is the most common trust used in family special needs planning.
First-Party (D4A) Special Needs Trust: Funded with the disabled individual’s own assets—typically from a personal injury settlement, inheritance received directly, or other windfall. Federal law (42 U.S.C. § 1396p(d)(4)(A)) allows these trusts to preserve Medicaid eligibility, but they must include a Medicaid payback provision, meaning any remaining trust assets at death are used to reimburse the state for Medicaid benefits paid. For more details, see our D4A Trusts & Pooled Trusts page.
Pooled Trust: A trust managed by a nonprofit organization that pools assets from multiple beneficiaries for investment purposes while maintaining separate accounts for each. Pooled trusts are available to disabled individuals of any age and are often used when a D4A trust is not feasible (for example, when the individual is over 65). They also include a Medicaid payback provision.
Frequently Asked Questions About Special Needs Planning
Our FAQs offer practical guidance on special needs planning attorney legal services. They are written to help you stay informed, not overwhelmed.
It can, if the inheritance is received directly. Assets over $2,000 can disqualify an individual from SSI and Medicaid. A Special Needs Trust allows you to leave assets for your child’s benefit without affecting their eligibility.
A third-party trust is funded by someone other than the beneficiary (usually a parent) and has no Medicaid payback requirement. A first-party (D4A) trust is funded with the disabled person’s own assets and must include a Medicaid payback provision.
A Letter of Intent is a non-legal document that describes the disabled individual’s daily routines, medical needs, preferences, personality, and care instructions. It serves as a guide for future caregivers and trustees and ensures your child is seen as a person, not just a case number.
The trust can pay for housing-related expenses, but doing so may reduce the beneficiary’s SSI payment under the in-kind support and maintenance rules. An experienced special needs planning attorney can structure payments to minimize this impact.
The trustee must understand SSA and Medicaid rules, manage trust investments prudently, and make distribution decisions that comply with trust terms without jeopardizing benefits. Many families use a professional trustee (bank or trust company) with a family member as co-trustee to balance financial management with personal knowledge of the beneficiary.