Sources of Assets for Special Needs Trusts: Litigation Proceeds

When funding a SNT with proceeds from personal injury litigation, whether as the result of settlement, arbitration, or court order, care must be taken to consider all relevant factors, including projected costs over the beneficiary's expected lifetime, any required paybacks for medical expenses or liens, tax implications, potential effect on public benefits eligibility, and more.

A first-party SNT is frequently funded through the proceeds from litigation arising out of personal injury, such as birth injury, medical malpractice, auto accidents, mass tort, negligence, etc.  Because of the way the judicial system works, the litigation proceeds may come through a settlement, an award through arbitration, an agreement through court-ordered mediation or through a judgment. However, regardless of the process, the steps in the judicial process where the proceeds are obtained may affect the analysis that goes into creating and funding the SNT.

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This free download is part of Fundamentals of Special Needs Trusts, which places special needs trusts in the arsenal of tools available to an attorney to help his senior clients and those who have disabilities. It helps the practitioner to understand how she can draft a trust, using the person's own funds or the funds of another, to provide goods and services for those clients that will enhance their everyday existence.

Fundamentals of Special Needs Trusts provides practitioners with analysis of the law, authoritative advice, practice notes, checklists, and forms. It begins with a discussion of the history of special needs trusts, discusses ethical issues, explains the various types of special needs trusts and how to draft, fund, and administer those trusts, how and when to terminate them, and the relevant tax considerations.

It is a reasonably priced desk manual that is available at the LexisNexis Store and is the product of highly experienced practitioners.