Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in Pennsylvania
My son had a special needs trust is was set up as a result of a medical malpractice law suite. When we settled a annuity was also bought(structured) the annuity had a monthly pay out that was guarenteed f or 15 years or as long as our son lived. He passed away in June. At first we were to wrapped up in the loss of our son. Now the financial aspect is hitting hard. We are unsure of paperwork that we have. It was the full and final release of the settlement which states that if our son dies before the 15 year guarenteed period the guardians( whom is us) will be entitled to the remainder of the 15 year payments. The trust lawyer says no that DPW is entitled to the remainder of the annuity payments as well as the remainder of the trust. We knew the trust would work that way but we were told that if something should happen we would recieve the remainder of guarenteed annuity paymnets. we need some advice and are really hurting financially.
2 Answers from Attorneys
For your Special Needs Trusts questions, look for a lawyer who specializes in this area. It involves many Federal and State questions, and not all probate / estates lawyers are sufficiently familiar with this area. You will also need to have the trust agreement and the release carefully reviewed by such a lawyer, in order to get the advice you need.
THIS RESPONSE IS NOT LEGAL ADVICE, SINCE I DO NOT HAVE ALL OF THE INFORMATION THAT WOULD BE REQUIRED, AND I DO NOT HAVE A REPRESENTATION AGREEMENT WITH YOU.
* If the answers to your question confirm that you have a valid issue or worthwhile claim, your next step should almost always be to establish a dialog with a lawyer who can provide specific advice to you. Contact a lawyer in your county or township.
* Another reason for contacting a lawyer is that it is often impossible to give a good answer in the Internet Q&A format without having more information. The unique circumstances of your situation and things that you may not have thought to mention in your question may completely change the answer. If you want to be sure that you have a complete answer to your question and an understanding of what that answer means, establish a connection with a lawyer who practices in the area of your concern.
I am sorry for your loss. However, any attorney is going to need to review the paperwork. My question is why is the DPW involved here at all? Did you or your son receive public assistance?
There are rules regarding Medicaid recovery. The state is OBLIGATED by law to recover any money from the estate of the deceased person. A self-funded special needs trust has to have language in the trust about providing for Medicaid recovery. However, I am not sure when this rule took effect. If it was after the trust was set up, then maybe Medicaid does not need reimbursed.
These self-funded special needs trusts are so complicated. You really need to take the document to a lawyer who specializes in these kinds of trusts (estate planning lawyers do) and pay the lawyer for 30-60 minutes of time to review the trust and see what it says about Medicaid reimbursement. You indicate that a trust lawyer is involved - I don't know if he represents the trust or you. If he represents the trust, then get an independent opinion from your own lawyer.
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