Practice Areas
Protecting Assets During Your Lifetime. Preserving Them For Future Generations.
Estate Planning for Those With Special Needs is Essential
Planning to Protect Your Loved One
Individuals affected by disability or special needs are uniquely vulnerable. The importance of sound planning for the future cannot be overstated.
In addition to the daily challenges of caring for their loved one’s needs, parents and other caregivers of special needs individuals must consider long-term financial and legal planning measures to preserve quality of life for their loved one. They may wonder who will care for and make medical decisions for a loved one when they are no longer able to do so. And they may be unaware that program benefits such as MassHealth or SSI could be jeopardized by an improperly structured inheritance. Adding to these challenges, parents also wonder how to treat their other children equitably while planning for their special needs child.
Our goal at Estate Preservation Law Offices is to make the estate planning process as easy as possible by creating a properly-structured estate plan that will coordinate all of the legal, financial, and care concerns you may have for your loved one. In addition to traditional estate planning considerations, special needs and disability planning involves navigating a complicated set of Federal and state laws and regulations. Our legal experts will help you navigate this landscape.
“Helping families and caregivers of people with special needs is important to me because I deal with special needs in my own family as well as daily with my clients. Educating and supporting these families is something that is important to me, and to our staff, both personally and professionally.”
Attorney Brendan J. King
Working With You: Our Process
At EPLO, you will find expert advice given with care and compassion. Our special needs and disability planning services include:
- Drafting and administering special needs and supplemental needs trusts
- Specialized estate plans for parents or other benefactors of disabled or special needs beneficiaries
- Coordination of benefits applications
- Participation with clients’ other trusted advisors in the financial analysis of beneficiaries’ projected future needs and the related estate planning implications
- Guardianships and conservatorships
The Role of Special Needs Trusts
A Special Needs Trust (SNT) plays an important role in preserving the financial security and independence of a person with special needs, and it assures that a child will be financially cared for when a parent, grandparent or other caregiver is no longer able to do so.
There are different types of SNTs, in addition to special accounts (known as ABLE accounts) that certain individuals may set up to shelter assets while preserving benefits. Understanding the utility and interrelationship among these various planning strategies is a key component of special needs planning.
Taking the First Step
Amidst the daily challenges and joys of caregiving, finding the energy, time and resources to address the legal and financial planning challenges can be overwhelming. Having been touched personally, we empathize; and we have the skills and experience to help. Our commitment is to turn a stressful undertaking into a manageable and satisfying endeavor for clients and their families.
Our Practice Areas
● Estate Planning
● Asset Protection Planning
● Elder Law & Medicaid Planning
● Business & Corporate Planning
● Special Needs & Disability Planning
● Estate& Trust Administration
● Guardianships & Conservatorships
● Tax Planning - Corporate & Individual
● Charitable & Exempt Organizations
● Equine & Pet Trust Planning
● Veterans Benefits Planning
● Financial Aid Planning
More about Special Needs and Disability Planning from Our Blog
Sunday Telegram Interviews Brendan J. King on Special Needs Planning
Brendan King was featured in a full page article in the March 26, 2017 edition of the Worcester Telegram &...
Estate Planning When There is a Special Needs Individual in Your Care
By Brendan J. King: If you are the parent, grandparent or other caretaker of an autistic or special needs individual,...
Special Needs Trust Fairness Act: New law ends years of unfair treatment of individuals with disabilities
By Linda T. Cammuso: We are pleased to bring you the following news of the recent changes to special needs trust law....
Our Offices
Worcester Office
71 Elm Street, Suite 100
Worcester, MA 01609
Tel: 508.751.5010
Fax: 508.751.5016
Leominster Office
156 Hamilton Street
Leominster, MA 01453
Uxbridge Office
9 N Main Street
Uxbridge, MA 01569
Braintree Office
100 Grandview Road. Suite 405
Braintree, MA 02184
Cape Cod & Islands
776 Main Street
Hyannis, MA 02601
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Estate Preservation Law Offices of Worcester, MA provides multi-leveled and integrated estate planning and asset protection planning services. Its services includes: estate planning, asset protection planning through domestic and foreign techniques, business and corporate planning, corporate and individual tax planning, elder law and Medicaid planning, estate and trust administration, guardianships and conservatorships, retirement planning, special needs and disability planning, financial aid planning, veterans benefits planning, charitable and exempt organizations, and equine and pet trust planning. The firm serves clients in areas that include Worcester, Boylston, Braintree, Boston, Brewster, Brookline, Cambridge, Chatham, Fitchburg, Holden, Hyannis, Leominster, Newton, Needham, Northborough, Southborough, Shrewsbury, Wellesley, Weston, Westborough, Cape Cod & Islands, Central Massachusetts, Metro west / 495, and New Hampshire.