A Los Angeles special needs trust attorney helps you provide for a loved one with a disability without accidentally cutting off the benefits that person depends on. Leaving money directly to someone who receives SSI can push them over the program's resource limit, turning a gift meant to help into a costly problem.
A well-meaning inheritance, a lawsuit settlement, or even a modest cash gift can push a Supplemental Security Income (SSI) recipient over the resource limit and interrupt their benefits, and restoring eligibility then takes time, paperwork, and money that didn't need to be spent.
The Law Office of Rodney Gould builds special needs trusts that protect assets while preserving benefits for families across Los Angeles County. Call (818) 981-1760 or use our online contact form to get started.
Why Choose the Law Office of Rodney Gould for a Special Needs Trust
The Law Office of Rodney Gould provides direct, attorney-led guidance on special needs planning, so the person drafting your trust is the one you actually talk to. These trusts are unforgiving of small mistakes, and personal attention is what keeps them working.
One Attorney, Start to Finish
You work with Attorney Rodney Gould from the first meeting through the signing of the trust, not a rotating cast of staff. That continuity matters when the plan has to fit one family's exact situation.
A Trust Built Around the Benefits at Risk
Our firm looks at the benefits your loved one receives before deciding how the trust should be structured. That matters because SSI, Medi-Cal, and other public programs follow different rules, and the trust needs to protect what your family member actually relies on.
Help With More Than the Trust Document
A special needs trust only works if the right assets are included and the trustee understands how to use them. The firm can help you structure the trust, plan its funding, and provide the trustee with clear guidance on distributions that could affect the beneficiary's benefits.
Call the Law Office of Rodney Gould at (818) 981-1760 or use our online form to get started.
What Is a Special Needs Trust in California?
A special needs trust in California is a legal arrangement that holds money and property for a person with a disability while helping preserve eligibility for needs-based public benefits. For SSI, assets held in a properly structured special needs trust generally don't count toward the program's resource limit.
Special needs trusts are sometimes referred to as supplemental needs trusts. The trust pays for extras that public benefits don't cover, such as therapy, education, or a specially equipped vehicle.
A trustee controls the funds and follows strict rules about how the money can be spent, which is exactly why the wording of the trust matters so much.
Who Needs a Special Needs Trust?
You need a special needs trust when a person with a disability is set to receive money that could interfere with needs-based public benefits or when a family wants to leave assets for that person without giving them the money outright. It comes up more often than families expect, and it's rarely something people plan for in advance.
Los Angeles County had 346,099 SSI recipients in December 2024, including 223,004 people who qualified based on blindness or disability. That makes careful benefit planning especially important for families leaving money to a loved one who depends on SSI.
Common situations include:
- Planning an Inheritance: Parents want to leave assets to a disabled child through a third-party special needs trust built into their estate plan.
- Receiving a Settlement: A person with a disability receives a personal injury or medical settlement and needs a first-party trust to hold the funds while preserving benefits such as SSI.
- Handling a Direct Gift: A relative left money outright to a disabled beneficiary, and the family needs to determine how to protect benefits that could be affected.
How Does a Special Needs Trust Protect Public Benefits?
A special needs trust protects public benefits by holding assets under rules that can keep them from being counted as the beneficiary's own for programs such as SSI. SSI imposes a resource limit, while California eliminated the asset test for Medi-Cal beginning January 1, 2024.
The protection only holds if the trust follows federal and California rules. A first-party trust funded with the beneficiary's own money must include required Medi-Cal notice and payback provisions, while a properly structured third-party trust funded by family generally doesn't require a Medi-Cal payback provision.
Choosing the wrong structure or omitting a required term can undermine the plan. A Los Angeles special needs trust attorney ensures the document aligns with both the family's goals and the applicable benefit rules.
What Happens if a Special Needs Trust Is Set Up Wrong?
A special needs trust that is set up incorrectly can do the opposite of what the family intended, putting the beneficiary's public benefits at risk. A missing required provision, an overbroad spending provision, or improper distributions can create benefit problems, and fixing a broken trust is far harder than drafting it correctly the first time.
This is where do-it-yourself templates cause the most damage because they may not account for California's Medi-Cal rules or the difference between first-party and third-party trusts.
A Los Angeles special needs trust attorney can coordinate with the family's broader plan and, where a trustee later needs support, connect them with help on trust administration in Los Angeles. If a dispute later arises over how a trust or estate was handled, that can shift into probate litigation.
What Clients Say About Rodney Gould
Rodney and his team are excellent! They walk you through the entire process step by step, and answer all your questions in terms that the average person can and will understand. The best part about my experience is that they're gay friendly. Check them out for yourself.
~ M. C.
Rodney and his firm have provided legal services for our family for years. He's provided estate planning, preparing and executing our will and family trust as well as consulting on real estate transactions and most recently settling a contract dispute. We highly recommend his services. You can completely trust Rodney's...
~ K. and B. C.
Rodney Gould has represented many friends of mine, and all of us value his insight, efficiency, moral judgement, compassion and, of course, his legal knowledge. He has just handled a trust which named me Executor and he guided me through the process.
~ I. D.
An absolutely fabulous experience working with Rodney Gould! His professionalism and timely advice were very much appreciated. Both my adult daughter and I needed to create/update our wills and other health care documents. Rodney worked closely with our financial advisor and made the entire process very streamlined. Rodney is a...
~ A. L.
I lost my partner after 43 years together, and we were friendly with Rodney and his partner for years... but it was only after Bill's death did I REALLY NEED RODNEY... not only for a good friend, but needed him to advise me in all sorts of ways... to take...
~ G. B.
FAQ for Los Angeles Special Needs Trust Attorney
Do I Need a Special Needs Trust Attorney in Los Angeles, or Can I Use an Online Template?
It's far safer to work with a Los Angeles special needs trust attorney because you need to comply with the benefit rules that apply to the beneficiary. A wrong provision or improper trust structure can put benefits at risk, which defeats the purpose of the trust.
What Can a Special Needs Trust Pay For?
A special needs trust can pay for goods and services that improve the beneficiary's life beyond what benefits cover, such as education, therapy, recreation, or transportation. Shelter payments can reduce SSI in some circumstances, so the trustee needs to understand the distribution rules.
Food itself has not counted as in-kind support and maintenance for SSI since September 30, 2024, although cash given directly to the beneficiary can still count as income.
Who Should Serve as Trustee of a Special Needs Trust?
The trustee should be someone reliable who understands the strict spending rules, whether a trusted relative or a professional fiduciary. A pooled special needs trust is instead managed by a nonprofit organization.
What Is the Difference Between a First-Party and Third-Party Trust?
A first-party trust holds the beneficiary's own money and must include a provision allowing Medi-Cal to recover qualifying costs after the beneficiary dies, while a third-party trust holds money from someone else and is not subject to Medi-Cal recovery.
Does a Special Needs Trust Have To Go Through Court?
A third-party trust created as part of an estate plan usually doesn't require court involvement. Court approval can be required in some first-party trust situations, including certain settlements.
Protect Your Loved One's Future Today
The wrong document can put the benefits your family member relies on at risk, and the time to get it right is before the money arrives, not after. The Law Office of Rodney Gould can build a special needs trust that fits your family and follows the rules that apply to the beneficiary.
Call (818) 981-1760 or use our online form today to get started.