Resources

Practical tools, checklists, guides, and reference materials for families planning for a person with disabilities.

Special needs planning can involve a lot of moving pieces: SSI, Medicaid, trusts, ABLE accounts, beneficiary designations, estate documents, trustees, caregivers, and state-specific rules.

This page is designed to help families organize those pieces.

The goal is not to replace legal or financial advice. It is to help families arrive at those conversations better prepared, with clearer questions, better records, and fewer surprises.

Start Here

If you are new to special needs planning, begin with the basics:

[Understand Special Needs Trusts](/trusts/)

Learn the difference between first-party, third-party, and pooled trusts, how trustees work, and how trusts can interact with SSI and Medicaid.

[Learn About ABLE Accounts](/able-accounts/)

Understand qualified disability expenses, eligibility, account limits, and the Medicaid payback issue families should not overlook.

[Understand SSI and Medicaid](/benefits/)

Learn how income, resources, inheritance, trusts, ABLE accounts, and direct gifts can affect means-tested benefits.

[Start Estate Planning](/estate-planning/)

Review wills, beneficiary designations, life insurance, retirement accounts, trustees, successor planning, and continuity after a parent or caregiver dies.

[Explore State Guides](/state-guides/)

Find state-specific information about Medicaid, estate recovery, trust rules, guardianship, supported decision-making, and other local issues.

Planning Checklists

Good planning usually starts with good questions.

Benefits Checklist

Before making a major financial decision, identify:

• Does the person receive SSI?
• Does the person receive Medicaid?
• What Medicaid eligibility category applies?
• Does the person receive SSDI or another Social Security benefit?
• Is Medicare involved?
• Is the person enrolled in a waiver?
• What income does the person currently receive?
• What resources does the person currently own?
• Is there already a trust?
• Is there already an ABLE account?

Related guide: [SSI, Medicaid & Benefits](/benefits/)

Estate Planning Checklist

Families may want to review:

• Will
• Special needs trust
• Life insurance
• Retirement accounts
• Beneficiary designations
• Payable-on-death accounts
• Transfer-on-death accounts
• Powers of attorney
• Healthcare directives
• Guardianship or supported decision-making arrangements
• Trustee and successor trustee
• Executor
• Emergency contacts
• Letter of intent
• Current benefits information

Related guide: [Estate Planning](/estate-planning/)

Beneficiary Designation Checklist

A trust can be drafted perfectly and still be bypassed by the wrong beneficiary designation.

Review:

• life insurance
• IRAs
• 401(k) plans
• 403(b) plans
• pensions
• annuities
• payable-on-death bank accounts
• transfer-on-death investment accounts

For each asset, ask:

• Who is the primary beneficiary?
• Who is the contingent beneficiary?
• Should a trust be named instead?
• Is the trust name correct?
• Has the form been updated since major life events?

Trust Planning Checklist

Before creating or funding a trust, ask:

• Whose money will fund the trust?
• Is this first-party or third-party money?
• Does Medicaid payback apply?
• Who will serve as trustee?
• Who will serve as successor trustee?
• What benefits does the beneficiary receive?
• How will distributions be handled?
• Who receives remaining assets after the beneficiary dies?
• Will the trust receive life insurance?
• Will the trust receive retirement assets?
• Does the trust need professional administration?

Related guide: [Special Needs Trusts](/trusts/)

ABLE Account Checklist

Before opening or heavily funding an ABLE account, ask:

• Does the beneficiary meet ABLE eligibility requirements?
• What expenses will the account be used for?
• Does the beneficiary receive SSI?
• Does the beneficiary receive Medicaid?
• What is the plan's Medicaid payback policy?
• What fees does the account charge?
• What investment options are available?
• Who will manage the account?
• What happens when the beneficiary dies?
• Would a third-party special needs trust be better for large family assets?

Related guide: [ABLE Accounts](/able-accounts/)

Choosing a Trustee Checklist

A trustee may manage money for many years.

Consider:

• financial judgment
• reliability
• recordkeeping ability
• understanding of SSI and Medicaid
• willingness to serve
• relationship with the beneficiary
• ability to make objective decisions
• potential conflicts of interest
• geographic location
• age and health
• successor planning
• whether professional administration is appropriate

Related guide: [Choosing a Trustee](/choosing-a-trustee/)

Questions to Ask an Attorney

A family meeting with an estate-planning or special needs attorney may want to ask:

• What type of trust are you recommending?
• Why is that trust appropriate?
• Whose assets will fund it?
• Does Medicaid reimbursement apply?
• Who can serve as trustee?
• What happens after the beneficiary dies?
• How should life insurance be designated?
• How should retirement accounts be handled?
• How should grandparents leave assets?
• Does the trust interact with SSI?
• Does the trust interact with Medicaid?
• What state-specific rules apply?
• How often should the plan be reviewed?

Do not leave a meeting understanding only that:

“We created a special needs trust.”

You should understand what kind of trust it is and what job it is supposed to perform.

Questions to Ask a Financial Professional

When working with a financial planner, investment adviser, insurance professional, or other financial professional, consider asking:

• Do you regularly work with families receiving SSI or Medicaid?
• How does this recommendation interact with the special needs trust?
• Will this asset pass by beneficiary designation?
• Could this account pass directly to the beneficiary?
• Is an ABLE account appropriate for part of these funds?
• Who owns the account?
• Who controls distributions?
• What happens at death?
• Are there tax consequences?
• Has the estate-planning attorney reviewed the structure?

Financial planning and benefits planning should not operate in separate silos.

Questions to Ask an ABLE Program

Before selecting a plan, ask:

• What fees apply?
• What investment options are available?
• Are there debit card or checking features?
• What documentation is required?
• How are withdrawals tracked?
• What happens when the beneficiary dies?
• How does the plan handle Medicaid reimbursement?
• Can a successor beneficiary be named?
• Are there state tax benefits?
• Are there residency requirements?

And specifically:

What happens to the remaining balance after the beneficiary dies?

That question should never be skipped.

Questions to Ask a Trustee

If someone is considering serving as trustee, ask whether they understand:

• SSI resource rules
• Medicaid eligibility
• trust distribution rules
• recordkeeping
• taxes
• housing-related distributions
• beneficiary needs
• conflicts of interest
• annual reporting obligations
• successor planning

A trustee does not need to know everything personally.

They do need to know when professional help is necessary.

Create a Benefits Snapshot

Families may benefit from maintaining a one-page summary containing:

• beneficiary name
• Social Security benefit type
• Medicaid coverage
• Medicare coverage
• waiver program
• representative payee
• current trust
• trustee
• ABLE account
• current income
• major resources
• case manager
• important agency contacts

Update it when something changes.

This can make conversations with attorneys, trustees, case managers, and family members much easier.

Create an Estate Planning Inventory

Keep a list of major assets such as:

• home
• bank accounts
• investment accounts
• retirement accounts
• life insurance
• annuities
• business interests
• vehicles
• real estate
• valuable personal property

For each asset, document:

• owner
• approximate value
• beneficiary designation
• where records are stored
• who should receive or manage the asset

The purpose is not to create a perfect accounting system.

It is to make sure important assets are not forgotten.

Create a Letter of Intent

A letter of intent can help future caregivers understand the person behind the legal documents.

Consider including:

• daily routine
• communication preferences
• food preferences
• sensory needs
• medications
• doctors
• therapies
• school or employment
• transportation
• hobbies
• friendships
• important family relationships
• behaviors that indicate distress
• calming strategies
• religious or cultural preferences
• hopes for housing
• hopes for work
• hopes for community life

A trust can manage money.

A letter of intent can help preserve knowledge.

Build an Emergency File

A secure emergency file may contain:

• identification documents
• insurance cards
• Medicaid information
• Social Security information
• medications
• medical contacts
• trust documents
• ABLE account information
• estate documents
• powers of attorney
• guardianship or supported decision-making documents
• key phone numbers
• emergency instructions

Make sure at least one trusted person knows where it is.

Organize Important Contacts

Maintain current contact information for:

• trustee
• successor trustee
• attorney
• financial professional
• case manager
• Medicaid office
• Social Security office
• waiver coordinator
• physicians
• therapists
• caregivers
• family members
• emergency contacts

A plan is much more useful when the people responsible for carrying it out can actually find one another.

Review Your Plan Regularly

Set a recurring reminder to review:

• beneficiary designations
• trust documents
• trustees
• successor trustees
• benefits
• ABLE accounts
• insurance
• estate documents
• emergency contacts
• letter of intent

Review sooner after major changes such as:

• moving
• death
• divorce
• marriage
• inheritance
• new benefits
• change in Medicaid
• change in caregiver
• new trustee
• significant financial change

Verify Information at the Source

Whenever possible, verify important rules using:

• Social Security Administration guidance
• Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services
• state Medicaid agencies
• state statutes
• state regulations
• official ABLE programs
• court or agency materials
• qualified professionals

Online articles can be useful for explanation.

They should not be the final authority for a major legal or financial decision.