Trusts-Benefits

[Lety]

My husband and I just got divorce, we have an 8 year old daughter with CF. She has a feeding tube and is doing fairly well. She was diagnosed when she was 2.5. I am getting child support but I barely make ends meet. At what age can I apply for Social Security Benefits or Supplemental Security Income. I am so confuse about this 2 and please any advise about what kind of trust should she have.

 

[2005CFmom]

You should contact the CF Legal Hotline about the Social Security. I don't know if they deal with trusts.
http://www.cff.org/livingwithcf/assistanceresources/cflegalhotline/

 

[cflawyer]

You can call the CF Legal Information Hotline at 1-800-622-0385 or email CFLegal@sufianpassamano.com. The Hotline is sponsored by the CF Foundation. All contacts are free and confidential. A child with CF can qualify for SSI benefits if she meets certain medical criteria and lives in a household that meets certain low income criteria. The Hotline can provide information on eligibility for Social Security benefits, Medicaid, Medicare, health jnsurance, employment rights and rights of people with CF in education. A special needs trust is the only trust that Social Security will not count as an asset when determining eligibility for SSI benefits. If a person has too much in assets then a special needs trust could be used but there are many restrictions that a person should be aware of before setting up such a trust. The Hotline can provide information on special needs trusts.

 

[jshet]

Hi lefty, I have experience with a special needs trust being set up for my son. He has cf and autism. Almost 2 years ago he was attacked by a dog being injured and his service dog was almost killed. Our lawyer is setting up a trust, and it is alittle tricky. I had to fill out a paper explaining his disabilities and it will be presented to a judge for him to decide whether to sign off on it or not. It is not something you can just set up to for your child. It is a pretty length process and if the judge would decide your child is not considered disabled, it will be denied.
for my son, we are quite confident the trust will be approved because he also has autism and will need ongoing care from us after the age if 18.
The money will be put into the trust and will not be able to be utilized until my son turns 18. Myself and my daughter will be the only ones able to ask for approval for funds to be distributed. If your child would receive disability when she turns 18, the money can not be used for food, shelter, or medical expenses. Doing so would affect her disability payments because that is what disability is allotted for.
a special needs trust is the only asset your child would be able to have that is above the social security guidelines without affecting your child's benefits. The reason being that the trust will be for my son, he will not be able to access the money himself, we will do it for him.
There is also a fee charged each year based on how much is in the trust at that time. The insurance co. For the dog owner will be paying the fee and all of the costs with setting up the trust for him.
you also are not allowed to add any money to the trust once it is set up.

Your child may be eligible for disability now, while she is a child. Once she turns 18, it is a much more strict guidelines. We will be applying for disability for my son in a few months, and Already nervous for the process. My son will not be able to work a full time regular job, but are hope is to find him something for a few hours a week, or volunteer work.

good luck in your decision and I hope the process or processes go well for you and your daughter.

 

[cflawyer]

I think the prior post confused a special needs trust with a trust set up as a result of a lawsuit settlement for a child under 18. The prior poster sounds like she will have settlement money put in a minor settlement trust and the trust could also have characteristics of a specisl needs trust. But for someone interested in a pure special needs trust here are important differences.

A pure special needs trust-
1. Money in the special needs trust CAN be used to pay medical expenses.
2. A judge does not need to determine a child is disabled in order to set up a special needs trust.
3. Money can be added to a special needs trust after the trust is set up.
4. The only things that special needs trust money cannot be used to pay for are food and shelter.
5. Money can be taken out of the special needs trust before the child turns 18.

The medical criteria for SSI benefits for children is just as strict for children as adults with CF. Actually In many areas of the country it is often more difficult to obtain benefits for a child with CF than an adult with CF.
The SSA medical criteria for CF may be changing in July 2014. If there are changes it could make it much more difficilt to obtain benefits based on CF.
Obviously nothing in this post is meant to be legal advice for anyone's specific situation. But it shows the importance of getting accurate legal information from an attorney who will assess your specific situation. The CF Legal Information Hotline is a great resource for legal information and is staffed by attorneys who have over 60 years of experience helping people with CF. All contacts are free and confidential.

 

[jshet]

The trust bring set up for my son is based on a lawsuit settlement and in fact will be a special heeds trust according to the paperwork I have. It says special needs trust.

either way, lefty, I wish you luck.

 

[Lety]

Thanks so much for all your answers. I called the CF legal information, they gave me some information but basically they said to find a lawyer in my city to get more information. It's overwhelming how complicated this things can be. Thanks a lot CFlawyer and jshet for your help.

 

[cflawyer]

The CF Legal Information Hotline cannot draft special needs trusts for a person with CF. The Hotline can only give information about legal issues people with CF face such as setting up a special needs trust. If you did not get a full explanation when you called please call back.