Comments on: SSI, Settlements/Inheritance, and Special Needs Trusts

By: TomaszStasiuk

TomaszStasiuk — Fri, 18 Nov 2011 15:35:00 +0000

I can’t answer your question. You can try Social Security Advice Online. They are a national company made up of former Social Security managers. Note: this is a private company not affiliated with the Social Security Administration. You can reach them at http://socialsecurityadviceonline.com and (513) 860-5924 , (513) 779-7439.

By: Richard and Darla Jenkins

Richard and Darla Jenkins — Fri, 18 Nov 2011 06:33:00 +0000

Hello. my wifwe and I get SSI here in California. She also gets SSA. We were both injured by a hit-and-run DUI driver. My car is totaled. I got a check for the inconvience of not having a car and a check for the replacement of the car. Plus we each get checks for pain and suffering. I have to pay out to Medical and Medicare and a chiropractor. We recieved the first two checks mentioned above and one of them cashed. The questions I have is: Do I owe the minium of 1 month of SSI/SSA back or the whole entire amount awarded from the settlement? The first 2 checks of which one (small 700.00) was cashed in the end of October 2011 and the other checks pending in November. Is my wife and I get a overpayment in November also? Please respond. Thank You

Richard and Darla in Eureka, CA

By: Anne H

Anne H — Sat, 22 Oct 2011 21:53:00 +0000

SSI does not count the home as countable assests so he can live in the home…imo

By: TomaszStasiuk

TomaszStasiuk — Fri, 30 Sep 2011 00:18:00 +0000

I encourage you to discuss this with a lawyer who handles medicare planning and specifically “special needs trusts.” This is a specialized area. However you can often find lawyers who handle these matters by first contacting estate planning and elder law attorneys. There are many pitfalls for the unwary in this. Professional advice is critical.

By: Akumal123

Akumal123 — Thu, 29 Sep 2011 18:22:00 +0000

Can the home be put in a living trust so that it is not an asset that he could sell?

By: Akumal123

Akumal123 — Thu, 29 Sep 2011 18:21:00 +0000

My son is on SSI in florida and might inherate a home to live in from his grandma. How can he live in the home and not loose his benefits?

By: TomaszStasiuk

TomaszStasiuk — Sun, 22 May 2011 19:45:00 +0000

I can’t address this. Lawyers handling estate planning (that is the general category) and particularly Special Needs Trust / Medicaid Eligibility / SSI preservation (that is the specialty) are the ones to ask.

By: Deb

Deb — Sun, 22 May 2011 18:03:00 +0000

Hello,

My husband was on SSI and Medicaid for approximately 20 years (during that time we were not married). He has been severely disabled with OCD and Depression.

Two years ago, we got married and stopped them both.

When setting up her will, his mother was told by her lawyer that she couldn’t will money directly to him. The lawyer said that if Social Security discovers you have money, they will want the SSI paid back (I don’t know about the Medicaid).

We asked if it was possible to find out how much money was given to him during that time but the lawyer said it was pretty much impossible.

Because of this, his mother has him set up with a Special Needs Trust. Neither of them like the situation but don’t know where to turn to get the answer.

Does this money, indeed, have to be paid back if he were to get his share of her will? If so, is there a way to find out how much it is?

I appreciate any help that you can give. Thank you for your time!

By: TomaszStasiuk

TomaszStasiuk — Thu, 19 May 2011 14:21:00 +0000

A special needs trust is one way of preserving SSI eligibility in the case of an inheritance. However, these are complicated devices and cost some money to set up. An attorney who handles trust matters or estate planning can go over whether this is an option (or the best option) based on the individuals specific circumstances.

By: Robin

Robin — Thu, 19 May 2011 02:23:00 +0000

Is it true that if you are on SSI in California that you have to pay back everything you received after age 55 if you receive an inheiritance? Is there any way to keep medicaid or pay a monthly fee to stay on medicaid? If not is there any program I can put my brother on. He is 58 and no health insurance company will insure him due to his health issues. Thank you for any information you can give me.

By: TomaszStasiuk

TomaszStasiuk — Wed, 20 Apr 2011 15:39:00 +0000

I can’t answer this. Talk to your lawyer.

By: roberto

roberto — Wed, 20 Apr 2011 14:23:00 +0000

I receive SSI disabilty and got a divorce settlement which went into a Lawyers escrow account. From there, the lawyer paid off long term creditors of mine. I never touched the money, not one cent of it. Is this OK?

By: TomaszStasiuk

TomaszStasiuk — Mon, 04 Apr 2011 22:48:00 +0000

Hi Cliff. I can only encourage you to contact your tax preparer / CPA.

By: cliff

cliff — Mon, 04 Apr 2011 21:02:00 +0000

my daughter is 19 y ear old special needs with mental disability.she gets 400 dollars a month from social security..im her dad who is her payee rep. she lives with me and her mom and her special needs brother.how do we count this social security on our taxes.and do we get tax credit.thanks for your knowledge and your time…cliff

By: cliff

cliff — Mon, 04 Apr 2011 21:02:00 +0000

By: TomaszStasiuk

TomaszStasiuk — Wed, 23 Mar 2011 02:04:00 +0000

This post does not strictly answer your question, however it discussed paying for a home via a special needs trust: http://www.dvanarelli.com/blog/?p=7271

The attorney Donald Vanarelli, may be a good person to contact to get an answer.

By: TomaszStasiuk

TomaszStasiuk — Tue, 22 Mar 2011 00:25:00 +0000

Hi, Maggie.

To be able to receive SSI benefits, an individual has to maintain financial eligibility. This generally translates into having less than a certain amount of income per month or assets. The house a person lives in (and the land it is on) is usually not counted as an asset. http://www.socialsecurity.gov/pubs/11000.html

However, the income from renting a house (or even subletting a room) may count as income which may make an individual ineligible to receive SSI.

Additionally, the proceeds from the sale of the same home may count as income.

Now, you would think that there is some way of “rolling-over” the proceeds from the sale of a house, into the purchase of another house. And, if the purchase was done within a certain number of months of the sale, it would not endanger SSI eligibility. That would make sense wouldn’t it? Otherwise, if you are on SSI, you would be trapped in the same home, because any sale might threaten to make you ineligible for SSI.

Well, unfortunately, I cannot find anything that suggests SSA has a of roll over provision to handle the sale of a house while preserving SSI. I cannot say with certainty that there isn’t one — I simple cannot find one. This page talks about the ability to receive SSI benefits while trying to sell real property. However, it also indicates you may have to pay SSA back for any SSI benefits during the sales period, once the property is sold. http://www.socialsecurity.gov/ssi/spotlights/spot-sell-resources.htm

It may be possible to handle this through a special needs trust. However, that would involve the cost of creating the trust which may be several thousand dollars.

I will ask an trust attorney I know if he would be willing to do a guest article addressing his question.

By: Maggie

Maggie — Mon, 21 Mar 2011 20:52:00 +0000

I live in Oregon, I am on SSI and own my own home. I would like to move and sell my house on contract and use the money to buy my new residence, is this okay, will I be able to keep my SSI?Or can I rent out my house to buy another?

By: TomaszStasiuk

TomaszStasiuk — Tue, 22 Feb 2011 19:19:00 +0000

It is possible. If the parent ,of a minor child on SSI, receives an inheritance, it may affect the household income and/or assets which might make the child no longer eligible for SSI.

At this point there are a lot of unanswered and unanswerable questions. Of course, no one can say when they may die. However, since an inheritance may impact your daughter’s SSI, it may be worth discussing the matter with the person who may be giving the bequest and their estate planner to set it up in such a way to preserve your daughter’s eligibility. This is outside of my area of practice so I cannot comment beyond suggesting that you investigate this further and obtain proper legal advice.

By: andrea

andrea — Tue, 22 Feb 2011 01:50:00 +0000

I may in a few years inherite money, not sure. My daughter has Autism and is receiving SSI along with Medicaid. I am my daughter CNA and medicaid pays me for her care. Will my daughter loss ALL her benifits?