Prior to this, in order for a disabled individual to establish a Self Settled Special Needs Trust it was required that a parent, grandparent, legal guardian or court establish the trust on their behalf.
Section 5007 of the Act, titled “Fairness in Medicaid Supplemental Needs Trusts” incorporates language from the Special Needs Trust Fairness Act of 2015 by adding two very important words (“the individual”) to an existing statute.
The statutory language indicates that the change to federal law is in effect immediately upon enactment so any disabled individuals who are capable of setting up such a trust should have access to this option.
The Social Security Administration issued an Emergency Message on December 13th acknowledging this statutory amendment but not all caseworkers will be familiar with it so expect some pushback when applying for SSI and especially Medicaid because the agencies don't interact as well as we all would hope.
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