Trust

Trust: a fiduciary relationship in which one person (the trustee) holds the title to property (the trust estate or trust property) for the benefit of another (the beneficiary).

Supplemental Needs Trust (Special Needs Trust): a trust established to provide supplemental funds to a disabled person in a manner that does not jeopardize his or her access to the governmental rehabilitation or support programs by holding the title to property for the benefit of a child or adult who has a disability. The trust can provide benefits to an individual but not cause the individual who has the disability to be disqualified from government programs. (Many special needs trusts are funded, at least in part, with some type of life insurance.)

Life Insurance

Term Life Insurance: offers protection that insures an individual for a specified period of time-anywhere between one and 30 years. A term policy pays a benefit if that individual dies during the period covered by the policy. If the premium is not paid, the insurance stops. These policies do not build any cash value.

Permanent Individual Life Insurance: Including Whole Life, Universal Life, and Variable Life, can provide protection for your entire lifetime, or in certain instances, up to a specific age-at which point the insurer pays the policy owner the cash value. Permanent life insurance policies can build cash value or be designed to deliver a death benefit to age 125.

Survivorship Life Insurance: is a joint term or permanent insurance policy taken out on the lives of two individuals that provide a death benefit on the event of the second death. This is typically the type of insurance policy that funds a special needs trust. Since the policy premium pays one death benefit, the premium can be substantially less than separate stand-alone policies.

Links:

mass.gov/dmr	Department of Developmental Services
doe.mass.edu	Department of Education
thearc.org	Association for Retarded Citizens
fcsn.org	Federation for Children with Special Needs
tillinc.org	Towards Independent Living and Learning

Because the content of newsgroups and websites changes constantly, it is impossible for us to review it all. Our firm is not responsible for the content of any of the above links. Please note the information being provided is strictly a courtesy. When you choose this link, you are leaving this site. Our firm makes no representation as to the completeness or accuracy of any information provided at these sites. Nor is our firm liable for any direct or indirect technical or system issues or any consequences arising out of the access to or the use of a third-party site. When you access one of these sites, you are leaving our website and assume total responsibility and risk for your use of the site to which you link.

"Goldwasser & Company does not perform legal work to establish any legal documents or trusts.
Please consult a qualified attorney specializing in Special Needs to get this part of your
planning completed."