Challenge leaving money to one particular family member

[KrunchTime]

Creating a will for one particular disabled family member is challenging because he is on SSI and owns a nice house (the government lets you do that with SSI). He is broke and barely makes enough money to get by (by renting rooms to some roommates). If I were to leave a lot of money to him, it would just quickly get wiped out by medical bills (because they no longer qualify for SSI). So, it doesn't make sense to leave a ton of money to this person-- like giving money to the government. But, in owning a home, as you can imagine, sometimes there are big repair expenses (which he can't afford). When you're on SSI, you don't qualify for benefits when your bank account goes over $2,000 or something like that. So my question is if there is some sort of trust fund or something that I could create that could be used for repairs on the home? I don't know if SSI allows that. I'm guessing not. Or would it simply be best to leave more money to OTHER family members and ask them to step up and pay for repairs as they become necessary? That might be the only way to protect this money.

 

[army judge]

Or would it simply be best to leave more money to OTHER family members and ask them to step up and pay for repairs as they become necessary?

If you TRUST certain relatives to follow through with your wishes, that is certainly one way to accomplish your wishes in a rather simple surreptitious manner.

 

[KrunchTime]

After a bit of research, I see that a "Special Needs Trust" is what I need. To the above poster, yes I trust other relatives to carry out my wishes. The question is, would THEY need to set up some sort of trust or legal framework so that this special needs beneficiary doesn't lose their SSI benefits? At least, with a Special Needs Trust, it seems to work as I would like.... paying to repair the roof or buying a new TV set is OK. I can't imagine that SSI would get upset if ANY person stepped forward to pay for home repairs.

 

[army judge]

After a bit of research, I see that a "Special Needs Trust" is what I need. To the above poster, yes I trust other relatives to carry out my wishes. The question is, would THEY need to set up some sort of trust or legal framework so that this special needs beneficiary doesn't lose their SSI benefits? At least, with a Special Needs Trust, it seems to work as I would like.... paying to repair the roof or buying a new TV set is OK. I can't imagine that SSI would get upset if ANY person stepped forward to pay for home repairs.

Heck, nothing prevents you from creating, or causing an entity to create a special needs trust tomorrow for your relative.

Once its created, your relative could inform his government benefactors that he no longer needs their monthly remittance.

My wife and I prevailed in a lawsuit for one of our sons.

The verdict in our favor allowed us to create a SNT for him and his two daughters.

Ultimately he passed away a decade and a half later, which allowed the substatial remainder of his SNT to pass in equal shares to his daughters, our granddaughters.

 

[adjusterjack]

I can't imagine that SSI would get upset if ANY person stepped forward to pay for home repairs.

There's a fine line between what is income and not income.

Understanding SSI - SSI Income (ssa.gov)

Best to speak to an attorney about your plans.

 

[Red Kayak]

After a bit of research, I see that a "Special Needs Trust" is what I need. To the above poster, yes I trust other relatives to carry out my wishes. The question is, would THEY need to set up some sort of trust or legal framework so that this special needs beneficiary doesn't lose their SSI benefits? At least, with a Special Needs Trust, it seems to work as I would like.... paying to repair the roof or buying a new TV set is OK. I can't imagine that SSI would get upset if ANY person stepped forward to pay for home repairs.

You would meet have to meet with a lawyer to set this up.

 

[KrunchTime]

If he was in need of doing a repipe of the house plumbing right now and somebody else (ex - me) paid for it, would that cause him to lose SSI benefits? This is an SSI question but maybe some of you know the answer.