Special Needs Planning.
Special needs trusts and the long-view planning that protects a loved one with a disability without disrupting public benefits.
Special needs planning is its own discipline. The goal is to provide for a loved one with a disability — a child, an adult sibling, a partner — without disrupting eligibility for the public benefits they may rely on now or in the future. A well-built special needs trust does that. A poorly built one can cost a family the very benefits the planning was meant to protect.
The firm has handled special needs planning since Liz founded it and works closely with families navigating both the planning side and the supplemental questions that come with it: choice of trustee, distribution standards, coordination with ABLE accounts, planning for parents’ own incapacity in tandem with the child’s plan.
Board Certified
Estate Planning and Probate Law, Texas Board of Legal Specialization.
Practice
Liz and the firm work exclusively in estate planning, special needs planning, and estate administration.
What this engagement covers.
Each engagement is shaped by the family. The list below shows the work that fits within this practice area; we draw on the items that match what your situation needs.
- ·First-party (self-settled) special needs trusts
- ·Third-party special needs trusts
- ·Pooled trust evaluation and selection
- ·Trustee selection and successor trustee planning
- ·Coordination with ABLE accounts
- ·Letter of intent drafting
- ·Guardianship planning for adult children
Parents of children with intellectual or developmental disabilities; siblings or other family members planning to provide for a loved one with a disability; clients whose own plans need to coordinate with a beneficiary who relies on public benefits.
Estate Planning
Wills, trusts, and the documents that protect your family if something happens to you.
Read more →Estate Administration and Probate
Guidance through what happens after a loved one passes — whether that requires probate court or a private trust administration.
Read more →Business Planning
Entity formation, governance documents, and the corporate work that intersects with the firm’s estate practice — particularly business succession.
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Ready to talk through your situation?
The first conversation is free, and it’s with Liz. You’ll leave with a clear sense of what your plan should cover, how long the engagement will take, and what it will cost.