Seattle Special Needs Trust Lawyer

Are you looking for a special needs trust lawyer in Seattle, WA?

At Latterell Law, we help families plan for a loved one with a disability across Seattle, WA and the surrounding area.

Unlike traditional estate planning, planning for a loved one with a disability requires strategies that protect both financial resources and eligibility for essential public assistance programs. A special needs trust answers that. Our Seattle, WA special needs trust lawyer drafts trusts that supplement a beneficiary’s care while keeping their eligibility for programs like Medicaid and Supplemental Security Income intact. Latterell Law has helped Washington families plan for dependents with disabilities for more than 20 years. Schedule a consultation to talk through your loved one’s needs and the plan that would protect them.

Special Needs Trust Lawyer Seattle, WA

A special needs trust holds money and property for the benefit of a person with a disability without that person owning the assets outright. Because the beneficiary does not control the funds, the government does not count them against the strict resource limits that programs like SSI and Medicaid impose. The trustee uses the money for expenses those programs do not cover, and the beneficiary keeps the benefits that pay for the essentials.

The distinction that matters is who funded the trust. A first party trust holds the beneficiary’s own assets, often an inheritance received directly or a personal injury settlement. A third party trust holds money that came from someone else, usually a parent or grandparent planning ahead. The two are governed by different rules, especially at the end, and choosing correctly is one of the first things a special needs trust attorney helps a family get right.

Types of Special Needs Trust Matters We Handle in Seattle

Planning for a loved one with a disability rarely involves just creating a trust. Our Seattle special needs trust attorney fits the trust into a wider plan that accounts for benefits, caregivers, and the years after a parent is no longer able to provide care. The services below reflect the work we do for families across Seattle, Washington.

• Irrevocable trusts. Many special needs trusts are irrevocable, and the drafting has to align precisely with benefit rules. We prepare the trust so it supplements care without becoming a countable resource for the beneficiary.
• Living trusts. Parents often hold their own estate in a revocable living trust that pours into a special needs trust at their death, so support continues without probate and without interruption.
• Guardianship. When a dependent with a disability reaches adulthood, a family may need legal authority to make decisions on their behalf. We guide parents through guardianship and its alternatives.
• Wills. A will names guardians for minor children and directs assets into the special needs trust rather than to the beneficiary directly, which a well-drafted plan requires.
• Powers of attorney. Financial and health care powers of attorney let a chosen person act for a beneficiary who can make some decisions but needs help with others.
• Trust administration. A special needs trustee carries unusual responsibility, since a single improper distribution can jeopardize benefits. We advise trustees on what the trust may and may not pay for.
• Asset protection. Families with liability exposure often coordinate their special needs planning with structures that shield the wider estate.
• High net worth estate planning. Larger estates raise questions of tax and coordination that a special needs plan must be built to accommodate.

Why Choose Latterell Law as My Special Needs Trust Lawyer in Seattle, WA?

Planning That Protects a Dependent’s Future

Angel M. Latterell founded Latterell Law and has spent more than 20 years helping families prepare for the long-term care of loved ones who cannot fully provide for themselves. She understands that the goal is not only writing a document, but crafting a plan a family can rely on for decades, one that preserves government benefits while making room for the extras that give a life its quality. When a family’s planning reaches beyond the trust itself, an estate planning lawyer in Seattle, WA can bring the wills, directives, and guardianship pieces together into one plan. Legal fees vary depending on the complexity of your circumstances and the scope of services required.

Two Decades in Washington Estate and Elder Law

Angel M. Latterell has practiced in Washington since 2005, with experience spanning estate planning, guardianships, Medicaid planning, and long-term care planning. She earned a bachelor’s degree from Macalester College and a Juris Doctor from Mitchell Hamline School of Law. She has belonged to the King County Bar Association since 2006 and to the Washington State Bar Association, and the bar recognized her as Volunteer of the Month in 2005.

Understanding Special Needs Trust Matters in Seattle

What a Special Needs Trust Can and Cannot Pay For

The effectiveness of a special needs trust lies in its ability to complement public benefits rather than replace them. Public benefits cover basic food, shelter, and medical care, and the trust covers what they leave out. Used correctly, it pays for things that improve a beneficiary’s life without displacing the benefits that meet their essentials.

• Therapies, equipment, and care not covered by Medicaid
• Education, job training, and enrichment activities
• Travel, recreation, and personal companionship
• Technology, furnishings, and household items
• Certain housing and vehicle costs, handled carefully to avoid reducing benefits

Distributions for food and shelter can reduce a beneficiary’s SSI, so the trustee must manage those categories with particular care. This is where guidance matters most.

First Party and Third Party Trusts

The source of the funding shapes the trust from the outset. A family planning with its own money uses a third party trust, which carries no obligation to repay the state and can pass any remainder to other relatives. A trust funded with the beneficiary’s own money, such as a settlement, is a first party trust, and it must include a provision repaying the state for Medicaid benefits after the beneficiary’s death. Knowing which applies, and drafting for it, protects both the beneficiary and the family’s intentions.

What Should You Bring to Your Special Needs Consultation?

The first meeting is most productive when we can see the full picture of your loved one’s situation. Bringing the following helps our Seattle special needs trust attorney give focused guidance.

• Information about the beneficiary’s disability and the benefits they currently receive
• Details of any funds intended for the beneficiary, including inheritances or a pending settlement
• Existing estate planning documents for the parents or the beneficiary
• Who you have in mind to serve as trustee, and who would serve as backup
• Notes on the beneficiary’s daily needs, care arrangements, and long term goals

The consultation provides an opportunity to discuss your family’s circumstances in detail. We will explain how a special needs trust can help protect your loved one, identify any complementary estate planning documents that may be needed, and review our fees before you make any decisions.

How a Special Needs Trust Fits With Public Benefits

A special needs trust does not replace public programs; it works with them. The trust supplements what Medicaid and SSI provide, and it must be drafted so the benefit agencies treat the trust assets as unavailable to the beneficiary. Washington offers its own resources in this area, from developmental disability services to a state-administered trust program, and a plan often draws on several of them at once. Coordinating the trust with those programs is central to the work.

What Are Important Washington Legal Resources for Special Needs Trusts?

Families often want to understand the benefit programs a special needs trust is built around, and a special needs trust lawyer can help interpret how they fit a specific plan. The references below relate directly to disability benefits and planning in Washington.

• The Social Security Administration explains Supplemental Security Income, the benefit a special needs trust is designed to preserve.
• The Washington Health Care Authority describes the ABLE savings account, a tool that often works alongside a trust.
• The Washington Developmental Disabilities Administration provides services and supports for individuals with disabilities and their families.
• The state’s Developmental Disabilities Endowment Trust Fund is a public special needs trust program families can use on its own or alongside a private trust.
• The Health Care Authority explains Apple Health, Washington’s Medicaid program and a core benefit these trusts protect.

Reach Out to Latterell Law to Schedule a Consultation

Planning for a loved one with a disability is one of the most important things a family can do, and it starts with a conversation. Contact us to arrange that meeting with Latterell Law. Our Seattle special needs trust lawyer can listen to your family’s situation, explain how a trust would protect your loved one’s benefits, and outline the documents that complete the plan.