Types of Arizona Special Needs Trusts

When it comes to special needs expenses, it is important to plan carefully with mindfulness towards long-term needs. After all, there are a number of expenses associated with the health costs of maintaining a disability, not to mention the inability often to work and earn money to take care of everyday living expenses. This is often helped by disability benefits from the government; however, added income can affect this money and even make it so that the disabled person can no longer receive said benefits.

Any time a special needs person receives disability benefits in any way from the U.S. government – as many do – they have to be very careful about how they handle their finances otherwise. This is particularly so if, for any reason, they receive a windfall of cash, which could affect their ability to continue to receive benefits. To start planning what kind of Arizona special needs trust to use, consider the different types of trusts available to make the best possible decision for your needs:

Self-Funded Trust: This kind of trust is established using direct monies or assets belonging to the beneficiary. It must be established by a parent, grandparent or other legal guardian of the individual in question and can only be utilized by those 65 years old or younger.
Third-Party Trusts: This is an Arizona special needs trust account created by a third party. As long as the account type is a special needs category, then it may benefit any person with a disability of some sort. It can be established as a living trust or a testamentary trust, which is dependent on a will document.
Special Needs Living Trust: This is the type of Arizona special needs trust that is established with the mindset of avoiding losing eligibility of benefits. Parents of special needs individuals can add to the trust and establish lifetime gifts as well as gifts by will to this account to ensure long term care planning for the individual in question.

The more you plan ahead when considering the financial needs for a special needs trust individual, the more prepared you will be should sudden financial situations crop up. Learning about the various types of Arizona special needs trusts can help you to make the most informed possible decision when choosing among the different types of trusts and determining which may work best for your situation.

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