Special needs planning is the legal and financial work that protects a person with a disability — their benefits, their care, and their quality of life — both now and after their parents are gone. Done right, it keeps your child eligible for government benefits like SSI and Medicaid while adding resources that improve their life. At Fuller Special Needs Law, that plan is the Fuller Life Plan: not a single document, but a living plan built around your child and maintained for their lifetime.

A special needs trust (SNT) is a legal arrangement that lets your child receive money and resources without losing benefits like SSI and Medicaid. A trustee manages the trust and uses it for needs those benefits don't cover. The trust is one important piece of the plan — but the trust alone isn't the plan. A trust document without a care plan is a guess with legal formatting.

Because to qualify for SSI and Medicaid, a person with a disability can have no more than $2,000 in countable assets — so one well-meaning gift, inheritance, or direct bequest can disqualify your child from the benefits they depend on to live. A properly drafted SNT lets you provide for your child without triggering that loss. Getting it right takes a specialist in special needs law, because the rules sit at the intersection of federal benefits, state trust law, and Medicaid policy.

There are three. A first-party (or "(d)(4)(A)") trust holds the disabled person's own money — such as a settlement or an inheritance they received directly — and must repay Medicaid at their death. A pooled trust is managed by a nonprofit and is often used for smaller amounts or for individuals over 65. A third-party trust holds someone else's money — usually a parent's — and has no Medicaid payback; for families planning ahead, this is almost always the right tool.

The key is making sure money and gifts never go to your child directly. Instead, assets are directed into a properly drafted special needs trust, and life insurance and retirement beneficiaries are pointed at the trust — not at your child. It also means coordinating the whole plan — benefits, funding, and the people responsible — so nothing accidentally disqualifies them. A specialist in special needs law helps you set this up and keep it compliant as the rules change.

They make sure someone you trust can make medical and financial decisions for your child if your child cannot make them alone — and that your child's preferences are documented and legally honored. For many families this also includes guardianship or supported decision-making as your child reaches adulthood. These tools work alongside the special needs trust so both the person and the money are protected.

You start with a conversation, not paperwork. At Fuller Special Needs Law the first step is a Fuller Life Plan session, where we learn your child's world before any document is drafted. You can also take the free Fuller Life Scorecard to see in about three minutes where your family stands today. Either way, you don't have to figure this out alone.

Costs depend on your child's situation and the complexity of the plan, and we'll be clear about fees before any work begins. What matters most is the cost of getting it wrong — a single mistake can erase years of benefits and savings. The most economical plan is the one that actually works for your child's entire lifetime, which is what the Fuller Life Plan is built to do.