---
date: "2025-09-21"
speaker: "Samantha Shepherd, JD & Beth Boldt, JD"
organization: "Assured Trust Company"
topic: "Special Needs Trusts, ABLE Accounts, POA/Guardianship"
blurb: "Three Essential Legal Tools for Individuals with Special Needs: Special Needs Trusts and Trust Administration, ABLE Accounts, & Power of Attorney/Guardianship."
---

# Samantha Shepherd, JD & Beth Boldt, JD - Special Needs Trusts, ABLE Accounts, POA/Guardianship

**Date:** 2025-09-21  
**Organization:** Assured Trust Company

> Three Essential Legal Tools for Individuals with Special Needs: Special Needs Trusts and Trust Administration, ABLE Accounts, & Power of Attorney/Guardianship.

## Notes from September 21st - Assured Trust - Legal Tools for Special Needs

[Assured Trust Company](https://assuredtrustcompany.com/)

### ABLE Accounts:
- Created in 2014; it's a 529 (Section 529 of Tax Code)
- Purpose: **"checking account"** for regular expenses of an adult with special needs
  - NOT a store of value (100K cap) — NOT a replacement for a special needs trust
  - Needed because SSI recipients cannot have more than $2K in checking, but CAN have money in ABLE
  - At death, residual ABLE balances may revert to the state
- You can convert a 529 to an ABLE account
- Uses: Education, training, disability-related living expenses, technology, transportation
- If you have more than $100K, your SSI will be suspended
- Annual contribution cap: ~$19,000/year (tied to federal gift tax limits)
- [Open a Kansas ABLE account](https://www.kansasstatetreasurer.ks.gov/able_savings.html)
- **Secure Act 2.0 (2024):** Qualifying disability age raised from 26 to 46

### Special Needs Trust:
- Separate legal entity funded upon your death per your revocable trust
- Samantha recommends **"stand alone" trust** bearing the individual's name (easier to administer vs sub-trust)
- Wills trigger probate (6-18 months, costly)
- **Types:**
  - **Third-Party SNT:** Established by parents/relatives; avoids Medicaid payback; parents control remainder beneficiaries
  - **First-Party SNT:** Funded with beneficiary's own assets (settlements, GoFundMe); subject to Medicaid payback at death
- Funding: Life insurance, real estate, farmland, retirement accounts, inheritances
- Kansas follows federal estate thresholds (~$30M for couples); Illinois has ~$1M threshold — plan carefully with multi-state assets
- Medicare 5-year "lookback" — BUT **contributions to a special needs trust are NOT included!**
- **ALL family members (including grandparents) must structure inheritances through SNT to prevent SSI disqualification**

### Trust Companies:
- Independent fiduciary chartered by the state, audited by 3rd party
- Corporate trustee takes over when both parents die
- Wells Fargo won't administer a trust < $2M; **[Assured Trust](https://assuredtrustcompany.com/) has no minimum**
- Administration tools: Debit cards with spending restrictions (e.g., TrueLink card)
- Spending philosophy: Trust funds should be **used** for beneficiary's lifetime, not preserved for max growth

### Guardianship vs Conservatorship vs Power of Attorney:
- **At age 18, parents lose automatic legal authority.** Plan before this milestone.
- **Guardianship:** Court controls the person's physical decisions. Court CAN appoint you guardian, but retains power at your death.
- **Conservatorship:** Only applies to money decisions, not physical health.
- **Power of Attorney:** Gives doctor permission to speak to you about child's health. BUT if child disagrees, doctor follows child's wishes.

### Resources:
- [SSA: Benefits for Children With Disabilities](https://www.ssa.gov/pubs/EN-05-10026.pdf)
- [SSA: Benefits for Children](https://www.ssa.gov/pubs/EN-05-10085.pdf)
- [SSA: Working while Disabled](https://www.ssa.gov/pubs/EN-05-10095.pdf)
- [SSA: Understanding SSI](https://www.ssa.gov/pubs/EN-17-008.pdf)
- [National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys](https://www.naela.org/)


## Attachments

- `5 Things You Need to Know About Special Needs Plan.pdf` *(download from original Gmail email)*
- `Slides from Assured Trust Company.pdf` *(download from original Gmail email)*