Supplemental & Special Needs Trusts in St. Paul, Minnesota
Planning that protects the people you love — without putting the benefits they depend on at risk.
Supplemental Needs Trusts and Special Needs Trusts hold money for a person with a disability so it supplements, rather than replaces, the needs-based benefits they rely on, like Medical Assistance (Medicaid) and Supplemental Security Income. Minnesota expressly enforces these trusts under Minn. Stat. § 501C.1205, provided they’re written to add to public benefits, not substitute for them. When done correctly, your loved one keeps their benefits and gains everything the trust can pay for: therapies, equipment, education, travel, and the extras that make a life fuller.
There are two main kinds. A Supplemental Needs Trust is a third-party funded trust that often receives money from a parent, grandparent, or other family member who is planning ahead — and leaves nothing for the state to reclaim. A Special Needs Trust is a first-party (self-settled) trust that holds the disabled person’s own money, usually an inheritance or an injury settlement, and follows federal rules under 42 U.S.C. § 1396p(d)(4)(A). A Special Needs Trust is subject to the state reclaiming funds. Choosing correctly between them is the entire ballgame, and it’s the first thing we sort out together.
We build these plans for the families that traditional estate planning firms too often overlook: parents — especially single mothers — planning lifetime care for a child with a disability; adult children stepping in for a sibling or aging parent; same-sex and chosen-family couples making sure a partner or loved one is provided for; and women coordinating a disabled family member’s care alongside their own legacy. Whatever your family looks like, the goal is the same — you decide who steps in and how your loved one is cared for. Not a court. Not a default.
Because a trust is only as good as everything around it, we coordinate it with your will or revocable trust, an ABLE account where it helps, beneficiary designations, a trustee and successor you actually trust, and a Letter of Intent that hands the next caregiver the knowledge only you carry today.
How the process works
- Free consultation — we learn about your loved one, the benefits they receive, and what you want their life to look like.
- Design — we choose the right structure (Supplemental Needs Trust, Special Needs Trust, or a pooled trust) and fit it into your overall plan.
- Draft & review — attorney-led drafting, walked through with you provision by provision.
- Sign & fund — execute the trust and set up funding: beneficiary designations, gifts, and ABLE account coordination.
- Keep it current — review as your family, the law, and benefit rules change.
Documents & tools we commonly build
- Supplemental Needs Trust (Minn. Stat. § 501C.1205)
- Special Needs Trust (42 U.S.C. § 1396p(d)(4)(A))
- Pooled-trust joinder (§ 1396p(d)(4)(C)), where it fits
- Letter of Intent — the care roadmap for future caregivers
- Trustee & successor-trustee designations
- Coordination with an ABLE account, will, revocable trust, and beneficiary designations
- Guardianship / conservatorship nominations, if needed
Who this serves
- Parents — including single mothers — planning for a child with a disability
- Adult children planning for a sibling or parent with a disability
- Same-sex and chosen-family couples protecting a partner or loved one
- Blended and nontraditional families coordinating care across households
- Anyone who wants a disabled loved one cared for without losing public benefits
Families we most often help with special needs planning
- A single mother planning lifetime care for a child with a disability — with no co-parent to share the load
- Parents who want an inheritance to help their child without ending their Medical Assistance or SSI
- Same-sex and chosen-family couples making sure a disabled partner or loved one is provided for
- Adult siblings taking over planning for a brother or sister with a disability
- Grandparents who want to leave money to a grandchild with a disability the right way
- Families with a settlement or inheritance coming to a disabled loved one who receives benefits
Common situations that call for a special needs trust
- A relative wants to name your disabled child in their will — and the gift needs to be redirected into a trust before it disqualifies them
- Your child with a disability is turning 18 and will apply for SSI or Medical Assistance
- You’re updating your own estate plan and realize leaving assets outright would cost your loved one their benefits
- A personal-injury settlement or inheritance is coming to someone who receives needs-based benefits
- You’re choosing a trustee who genuinely understands your loved one’s needs
What happens without a plan
Without a properly drafted trust, money meant to help a loved one with a disability can do the opposite. A well-meaning inheritance or gift can push them over the asset limit and interrupt Medical Assistance, SSI, housing, or waiver services. If no one is named to manage those funds, a court may appoint a conservator and decide how the money is used. And the knowledge only you carry — routines, providers, what a good day looks like — can be lost in the handoff.
None of that has to be your family’s story. The right trust, paired with a Letter of Intent, keeps both the benefits and the plan intact.
Special Needs Trust Frequently Asked Questions
Schromen Law helps families find the most effective, cost-efficient way to protect a loved one with a disability — starting with the questions below.
It’s a trust that holds money for a person with a disability so it supplements — rather than replaces — needs-based benefits like Medical Assistance and SupplementalSecurity Income. Minnesota expressly enforces these trusts under Minn. Stat. § 501C.1205, as long as the trust is written to supplement, not substitute for, publicly funded benefits. Done right, your loved one keeps their benefits and gains what the trust can pay for — therapies, equipment, travel, and quality-of-life expenses.
A Supplemental Needs Trust is funded with someone else’s money — usually a parent, grandparent, or other family member planning ahead (Minn. Stat. § 501C.1205, subd. 2). It has no Medicaid payback, so whatever is left can pass to other family members or charities/organizations. A Special Needs Trust holds the disabled person’s own money — often an inheritance or settlement — under 42 U.S.C. § 1396p(d)(4)(A) (Minnesota recognizes it in § 501C.1205, subd. 3), and must repay the state for Medical Assistance at the beneficiary’s death.Planning proactively and choosing the right one is imperative.
A properly drafted trust is designed to do the opposite. Under Minn. Stat. § 501C.1205, the trust must prohibit distributions that would replace or reduce public benefits — which is exactly what keeps the assets from counting against eligibility. The risk comes from an outright gift or a poorly drafted trust, not from a correctly built trust.
They work alongside the trust. A Letter of Intent isn’t a legal document, but it’s often the most important thing you’ll write — it tells future caregivers who your loved one is, their routines, providers, and what matters to them. An ABLE account is a tax-advantaged account a person with a disability can use for certain expenses without affecting benefits, within limits. We coordinate all three so they don’t work at cross-purposes.
A Supplemental Needs Trust can be created by a parent, grandparent, or really anyone planning for a person with a disability — it’s part of your own estate plan. A Special Needs Trust generally must be established by the individual, a parent, grandparent, guardian, or the court (42 U.S.C. § 1396p(d)(4)(A)), and Minnesota courts can authorize its creation and funding under § 501C.1205, subd. 3. We help you figure out which path fits your situations and needs, and build it into your broader plan.
