What is a testamentary special needs trust?
A testamentary special needs trust is a special needs trust that goes into effect when the trust maker dies. If you want to create a testamentary special needs trust, you can create it in your will or your own trust. There are two ways for a special needs trust to go into effect—you can set it up and put it into effect while you are alive (an inter vivos trust), or you can set it up to go into effect when you die (a testamentary trust). In either case, the trust must be irrevocable after it goes into effect to protect the beneficiary's eligibility for government benefits. So the advantage of making a testamentary special needs trust is that you can modify it while you're still alive, because it hasn't yet gone into effect. But testamentary special needs trusts have disadvantages. For instance, the trust beneficiary won't have access to the trust's assets until the trust maker dies.
Learn more about Special Needs Trusts on Nolo.com.
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