People with Special Needs Can Create Their Own Trusts

Special Needs Fairness Act corrects unfairness in legislation.

An unfair clause in special needs legislation was recently corrected, according to Wills, Trusts & Estates Prof Blog in "The Special Needs Trust Fairness Act Has Passed."

A person with special needs can find themselves ineligible for many government benefits, if they have property and other assets. Therefore, the problem was addressed with the creation of special needs trusts.

A parent, grandparent, guardian or a court could create a trust for the person with special needs. However, people with special needs were not allowed to create the trusts for themselves. The law assumed that everyone with special needs lacked the mental capacity to create a trust.

Both the House and the Senate voted to pass the Special Needs Fairness Act which gives the ability for people with special needs to create their own trusts for themselves. On Dec. 13, 2016, President Obama signed this into law, when he signed a larger piece of health care legislation.

Reference: Wills, Trusts & Estates Prof Blog (Dec. 7, 2016) "The Special Needs Trust Fairness Act Has Passed