Do you have a loved one in your life who is disabled due to a birth injury? Have you filed a lawsuit to recover compensation? If so, you may need to create a special needs trust to protect the proceeds of a settlement or favorable verdict in your birth injury case.
Children who suffer birth injuries may require more nursing care, physical therapy, home modification, special tutoring, and years of surgery than are provided for through government benefits. These expenses cost thousands of dollars, but if you put your birth injury settlement or award into a special needs trust, you can ensure that the money is protected so that it can cover these additional expenses and doesn’t end up being taken for reimbursement to the government for the cost of future care that would have been paid without reimbursement.
A special needs trust may also prevent the government from coming after your child’s money in the trust while your child utilizes certain programs in the future. By putting the money in a special needs trusts, your child will be able to continue receiving benefits that were previously provided to cover their medical care by the government without having the cost of care deducted from the money that is in the trust. The funds you set aside in the trust can then be used for expenses that aren’t covered by government benefits.
At the Law Firm of Michael H. Bereston, Inc., we have more than 30 years of experience assisting clients with their birth injury cases. We understand the importance of setting up a special needs trust to protect your settlement or award and can refer you to attorneys who concentrate in creating special needs trusts, and we are here to answer any questions you may have.