Special Needs Trust Planning for Berkeley Families

Begin with the beneficiary and the proposed funds

Before comparing trust arrangements, clarify the practical situation the plan is meant to address. Which benefits does the beneficiary receive or expect to seek? Who owns the assets being considered, and how might those assets reach a trust? Trust assets and distributions can affect SSI eligibility, so the source and ownership of funds are important context for the discussion.

As optional preparation, gather any existing trust or estate documents relevant to the funds and make a simple list of the assets being considered, their current owners, and their expected source. You can also note the benefits the beneficiary currently receives or may apply for. This information helps frame the planning questions; it does not itself establish eligibility.

• List the benefits the beneficiary currently receives or expects to seek.
• Note who owns each asset being considered and where it would come from.
• Gather relevant existing trust, inheritance, or estate-planning documents, if available.

Compare trust possibilities without relying on the label

Certain special-needs and pooled trusts may fall within exceptions under SSI rules, but conditions apply. Calling an arrangement a special needs trust does not, by itself, show that an exception applies to the beneficiary’s circumstances. The trust’s terms, the funds involved, and the way assets or distributions are treated all matter to the question being considered.

A useful comparison starts with the proposed arrangement and its intended funding and use. Ask what role the trust is meant to play, how the assets would be held, and what distributions are contemplated. Then consider whether the available information is enough to address SSI treatment, or whether the question remains unresolved. This is a framework for discussion, not a prediction of a benefit result.

Keep SSI and Medicaid questions distinct

An SSI-related conclusion does not settle every benefit question. A trust that is not counted for SSI can still affect Medicaid eligibility. That distinction matters when a family is weighing a proposed trust: an answer about SSI alone is not an answer about Medicaid.

Before relying on a trust to preserve benefits, identify the separate program questions that remain open. The available information does not determine how a particular trust will be treated for a particular beneficiary, and there is no guarantee that an inheritance or trust will preserve SSI, Medi-Cal, or another benefit. Treat the possible SSI exception and the possible Medicaid effect as separate issues rather than assuming one outcome resolves both.

Use the discussion to clarify the next decision

The key decision is not simply whether to create a trust. It is whether the proposed arrangement, considered alongside the beneficiary’s benefits and the ownership and source of the funds, is suitable to pursue—and which eligibility questions still need answers. If the trust’s potential treatment is uncertain, do not treat a general planning discussion or an SSI-related conclusion as a determination of Medicaid eligibility.

Codi M. Dada Law Office P.C. has one in-person office in Novato and provides virtual services throughout California, including Berkeley. To start a planning conversation, organize the benefit information, asset details, and relevant documents described above. That preparation can help focus the discussion on the proposed trust and the questions that remain, without assuming a particular benefit outcome.