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Leave a Plan, Not a Mess

Special Needs Planning Attorney

Planning for a person with a disability requires careful coordination. Pestinger Law helps individuals and families create plans that provide meaningful support without unintentionally disrupting important benefits. Our approach brings special needs trusts, estate planning, beneficiary designations, ABLE accounts, and long-term decision-making into one understandable strategy.

Understanding Special Needs Planning

Special needs planning is designed to support a person with a disability throughout their life while accounting for government-benefit rules and the individual’s unique needs.

For many families, the goal is to make sure that resources are managed responsibly, benefits remain available when possible, and the people providing future support have clear guidance.

A special needs plan may address:

  • Where an inheritance should be directed
  • Who will manage money for the beneficiary
  • How funds may be used to supplement government benefits
  • Whether an ABLE account should be part of the strategy
  • How parents, grandparents, siblings, or other relatives may contribute
  • Who can assist with financial, healthcare, or personal decisions
  • How the plan should adapt as benefits, laws, and family circumstances change

The Role of a Special Needs Planning Attorney

Special needs planning involves more than adding a trust to an existing estate plan. The trust, beneficiary designations, family contributions, and decision-making structure must work together.

At Pestinger Law, this may include:

1. Understanding the Individual and Their Benefits

Every person’s circumstances are different. We begin by learning about the individual’s disability, current or anticipated benefits, living arrangements, support needs, financial resources, and family network. This helps us build a plan around the person rather than starting with a predetermined legal document.

2. Creating the Appropriate Special Needs Trust

A special needs trust can hold and manage assets for a person with a disability while helping preserve eligibility for certain means-tested benefits. Different trust structures may apply depending on who owns the funds, who is creating the trust, and how the trust will be funded. The trust can also provide instructions for how funds should be managed and used to improve the beneficiary’s quality of life. We help families understand these distinctions and create a structure that reflects their circumstances.

3. Coordinating Inheritances and Beneficiary Designations

Creating a special needs trust is only one part of the process. Family members must also make sure that inheritances, life insurance, retirement accounts, and other assets are directed appropriately. Naming a person with a disability directly as a beneficiary may have unintended consequences. We help coordinate beneficiary designations and estate-planning documents so that assets move into the intended structure.

4. Considering ABLE Accounts and Decision-Making Options

An ABLE account may allow an eligible person with a disability to save and spend money on qualifying disability-related expenses while maintaining certain benefits. An ABLE account and special needs trust can serve different purposes and may sometimes be used together.

Planning may also involve questions about who will help the individual make financial, healthcare, or personal decisions. Depending on the individual’s abilities and needs, families may consider powers of attorney, supported decision-making arrangements, guardianship, or other options.

Planning for a Child or an Adult

Special needs planning is not limited to one stage of life.

Parents of a younger child may be thinking about future benefits, education, housing, caregiving, and what will happen when the child reaches adulthood. Parents of an adult child may already be navigating Medicaid, SSI, employment, residential services, or other support programs.

Adults with disabilities may also be planning for their own assets, inheritances, benefits, and decision-making needs.

The earlier these conversations begin, the more time the family has to coordinate the legal and financial pieces and communicate with everyone who may contribute to the plan.

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Special Needs Planning

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Cameron Pestinger

Proud
Member

Evanston Chamber of Commerce
Rotary Club of Evanston
Anniversary Center for Disability and Elder Law
NAELA

Why Choose Pestinger Law?

Pestinger Law stands out for its commitment to personalized service and expertise in special needs planning. Here are a few reasons to consider their services:

  • Experienced Guidance: The team at Pestinger Law has extensive knowledge of special needs planning and stays current on regulatory changes that may affect your plan.
  • Tailored Solutions: They work closely with clients to understand how life changes impact existing plans and create customized updates that address new circumstances.
  • Comprehensive Services: In addition to special needs planning, Pestinger Law offers complete estate planning services including trust administration, probate assistance, and elder law planning.

Get Started Today

In an unpredictable world, the importance of proper planning cannot be overstated. Pestinger Law in Evanston, IL, is ready to provide the expertise and personalized service necessary to help clients protect themselves and their loved ones. By working with a dedicated power of attorney attorney, individuals can ensure their affairs will be managed according to their wishes, even when they cannot manage them personally.

Don’t wait until it’s too late.  Contact Pestinger Law today.

1124 Florence Ave.
Evanston, IL 60202

Phone: (847) 884-8400
Hours: Monday – Friday: 9:00am – 5:00pm
Email: support@pestingerlaw.com

Schedule a Planning Session
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More than a Will

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