Disabled Children of Veterans’ Survivor Benefits

Disabled Children of Military Veterans May Now have Survivor Benefits Paid to Special Needs Trusts

In December 2014, Congress finally passed provisions allowing the disabled children of military veterans to have their survivor benefits paid in to Special Needs Trusts! This development will allow military families to create trusts that can receive these military survivor benefits after the death of the military parent. Previously these benefits were only able to be paid directly to the child. This often caused the child to lose other benefits the child had been eligible for prior to the death of the military parent.

The creation of these trusts must be done carefully, and may require court approval. The trust has to be for the sole benefit of the disabled child, although through the use of Pooled Trusts, other disabled beneficiaries may be able to benefit after the death of the original child beneficiary.

These trusts can be customized to fit the individual needs of the disabled child. Although the term child is used in describing the disabled person, the child may in fact be an adult at the time the benefits are received. For the first person Special Needs Trusts, there will be a requirement that certain Medicaid benefits be repaid to the government at the death of the disabled child, prior to other beneficiaries receiving any remaining assets from the trust. For Pooled Trusts, the remaining funds may go to benefit other disabled beneficiaries instead of paying the government back for these needs tested program benefits. Contact Strauss Attorneys PLLC. to schedule an appointment to discuss your family’s needs. You will be glad you did.