Special Needs Trusts

Special Needs Trusts & Choosing the Right Trustee: Lessons Learned from a Recent Fraud Prosecution Case

October 16, 2025 | by Chepenik Trushin LLP

On June 23, 2025, an indictment was unsealed which charged two Florida men, employees at The Center for Special Needs Trust Administration, with participating in a fraudulent scheme to steal over $100 million from their employer nonprofit organization that managed funds for people with special needs and disabilities. It was alleged that over a 15-year period, the defendants worked together to take money from special needs clients and use it as their personal funds. The head of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division described the crime as “stealing $100 million dollars meant for the most vulnerable members of our society to enrich themselves.”

This case highlights two important issues: the use of special needs trusts for the benefit of disabled individuals, and the importance of choosing the right person or persons to manage such a trust.

A special needs trust is established to hold funds for the benefit of people with special needs and disabilities. These trusts are created in a manner that allows the beneficiary to remain eligible for government benefits, like Supplemental Security Income and Medicaid. This type of trust is able to help individuals with disabilities meet their particular needs, create more comfortable lives, and serve as a safety net in the event they need access to additional funds.

Are you a “Dutiful Child”, who is a caregiver for your loved one? The Florida laws explained.

February 9, 2022 | by Chepenik Trushin LLP

Florida’s ‘Dutiful Child’ Exception

Throughout life, relationships and priorities often change, necessitating amendment to one’s Last Will and Testament to reflect these changes. However, sometimes these testamentary changes raise questions as to the testator’s motivations for the revisions, leading to a will contest. “Undue influence” upon the testator is one basis for challenging the validity of a will, trust, or other testamentary document. While litigating the issue of undue influence can be complex, the basic concept is straightforward: an individual is accused of improperly persuading a (often vulnerable and elderly) testator to draft or amend their will for that person’s individual benefit.

Florida courts consider several factors when assessing claims of undue influence over a testator, including the beneficiary’s arranging for the testator to prepare a will, knowledge of the contents of the will, and presence during the execution of estate planning documents. On paper, these factors seem like red flags pointing towards a finding of undue influence. Yet in reality, these are common actions of adult children simply caring for their elderly parents. So, how can an adult child helping their parent with estate planning justify these actions when faced with an allegation of undue influence?

Guardianship proceedings – learn the facts and the Florida laws

January 13, 2022 | by Chepenik Trushin LLP

In November 2021, after Britney Spears’ father, Jamie Spears, was suspended as conservator of his daughter’s conservatorship, a judge finally ruled to end the conservatorship. This decision signaled the end for the restrictive supervision that had been in place since 2008. Back in June 2021, Britney Spears made headlines as she gave an emotional testimony pleading for her conservatorship to be lifted, echoing the online social media movement #FreeBritney. After nearly fourteen years, Ms. Spears is finally poised to assume complete autonomy of her life and regain many of her most fundamental individual rights.

What is a conservatorship?

Under California law, where Ms. Spears resides, “[a] conservatorship is a court case where a judge appoints a responsible person or organization (called the “conservator”) to care for another adult (called the “conservatee”) who cannot care for himself or herself or manage his or her own finances.” The state declares one to be a conservatee if he or she is intellectually incapacitated and unable to make independent decisions, usually involving ailments such as dementia, serious mental illness, or other metal disabilities. Once the court establishes the conservatorship, the conservatee loses the right to make certain decisions, such as deciding medical treatment, controlling financial assets, marrying, and signing contracts, to name a few.

Trust Decanting in Florida

December 23, 2021 | by Chepenik Trushin LLP

Can an Irrevocable Trust be Changed? Trust Decanting under Florida Law

You do not have to be a Sommelier to be familiar with the concept of decanting wine. “Decanting”, the pouring of wine from its original bottle into a different vessel – is a technique utilized for two contemporaneous purposes: to separate the wine from any sediment that has formed it its original container, and to aerate the wine to enrich its flavors. It may be surprising, however, to learn that a similar legal concept exists for Trusts, and is valuable for similar circumstances.

As its name suggests, “Trust Decanting” is when a trustee creates a new trust, moving all the assets from the initial trust into the second trust, to either correct a mistake or unintended result—the hypothetical “sediment” that the initial trust may have incurred, or to strengthen the original purpose of the trust.

Guardianship 101 – What you need to know and learn

May 18, 2021 | by Chepenik Trushin LLP

Guardianship: Don’t Believe Everything You Watch on Netflix

Netflix’s new sensationalist movie “I Care a Lot,” released this past February 19, 2021, might have you thinking that being a guardian may be the path to wealth and easy money. Although a scammer making a living by successfully requesting the courts to appoint her as the guardian of elderly people she falsely claims cannot take care of themselves makes for a captivating story, fortunately this is far from the reality of guardianship practice.

Guardians are appointed by the court to care for and manage the property of people who cannot do it for themselves, such as individuals with a chronic mental illness, dementia, traumatic brain injury, or orphaned children. But the first thing to keep in mind is that, before a guardian is appointed, the allegedly incapacitated person has to be declared incapacitated by a court of law. This process involves the evaluation by one or more mental health professionals and/or physicians. Thus, unlike the movie, simply alleging a person cannot care for him or herself will not be sufficient. Once the person is deemed incapacitated, some or all of his or her legal rights are removed, and the guardian is charged with the responsibility to exercise those rights on behalf of the incapacitated person, who is legally referred to as “the ward.”

Elder law, Medicaid planning and Special Needs Trusts: What happens when Medicare will not pay for long-term medical care costs?

December 10, 2020 | by Chepenik Trushin LLP

Needs Based Government Assistance and Special Needs Trusts

It is never too early to start Medicaid planning. The goal is to focus on paying for long-term medical care and protecting your assets. By planning for Medicaid to pay for an amount of long-term care, it allows seniors to pass on their wealth while still maintaining long term medical care. With careful planning and the assistance of an attorney, you may be able to receive needs-based government benefits without having to deplete your assets, and ensure that and your children will be able to receive such government assistance if needed.

There are selected categories of people in Florida who may be eligible for Medicaid benefits, such as the elderly (age 65 and above), pregnant women, and people with certain disabilities. There are also a few other requirements to be eligible for Florida Medicaid, such as being a resident of the State of Florida, a U.S. national, citizen, permanent resident, or legal alien; having a financial situation that is considered low income or very low income; and owning assets below a certain threshold. If you are one of the selected categories of people who qualify for Medicaid, there is planning that can be done to help you meet the other requirements. However, there is a 5 year look-back rule regarding any uncompensated transfers that you make, so it is best to plan early and anticipate your future need.