Special Needs Planning
Back
At Ruder Ware, we understand the unique challenges faced by individuals with physical or cognitive impairments. Our attorneys are dedicated to ensuring clients’ long-term care needs are met. Ultimately, our goal is to maximize and preserve benefits, protect assets, and ensure lifelong care.
The Importance of Special Needs Trusts
Special needs trusts are crucial because they allow individuals with disabilities to receive financial support without losing access to government benefits like Medicaid and Supplemental Security Income (SSI). These trusts manage assets for the benefit of the person with disabilities. The funds can be used to enhance their quality of life by covering additional needs such as medical care, education, and recreational activities. This way, families can provide for their loved ones’ future without jeopardizing their eligibility for public assistance programs, offering peace of mind and financial security.
Since Wisconsin’s Disability Determination Bureau carefully evaluates benefit eligibility, proper trust structure is essential to maintain qualification for these vital programs.
Supporting Parents of Special Needs Children
Our special needs planning attorneys frequently help parents who want to ensure their special needs child continues to receive care without interruptions, whether the child is a minor or an adult. The creation of a special needs trust provides care beyond what governmental benefits can provide.
Setting Up and Managing Special Needs Trusts
A well-designed and managed special needs trust can support a family member’s needs without affecting their public benefits. We help families set up these trusts and find a trustee to manage them for the family member’s long-term benefit. Our team has extensive experience in creating, funding, managing, and adjusting different types of special needs trusts, including first-party, third-party, and pooled trusts.
Guardianship for Disabled Individuals Becoming Legal Adults
We also assist families when a child turns the age of majority (18 in Wisconsin) and needs a permanent guardian appointed. When a disabled child becomes an adult, their parent(s) loses many of the rights they had to handle their child’s physical and financial well-being. Our attorneys assist parents and other caregivers in petitioning the Court for the appointment of a permanent guardian of the person and estate of a child before they turn eighteen. Establishing guardianship provides for continuity in the services a caregiver provides to the disabled individual and protects the individual from financial abuse.
Special Needs Planning Services:
- Special needs planning for individuals with disabilities: We help families create plans that address the unique needs of those with physical or cognitive impairments, ensuring they receive the care and support they need.
- Creating and updating special needs trusts: We set up and modify trusts that hold assets for individuals with disabilities. This allows them to benefit from the funds without losing eligibility for government assistance programs.
- Securing and maintaining public benefits for long-term care: We assist in obtaining and preserving benefits like Medicaid and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) that help cover the costs of long-term care for individuals with disabilities.
- Acting as a professional trustee for special needs trusts: We serve as a trusted manager of the special needs trust, ensuring that the funds are used appropriately and in the best interest of the individual with disabilities.
- Managing guardianship and conservatorship matters, including appointments and removals: We help families establish, change, or remove legal guardians or conservators who are responsible for making important decisions on behalf of individuals with disabilities.
Contact Our Special Needs Planning Attorneys in Wisconsin
Planning for your family’s future requires careful consideration of your loved one’s unique needs and circumstances. At Ruder Ware, we’re committed to providing compassionate, knowledgeable guidance through every step of the special needs planning process. Our special needs planning attorneys work closely with Wisconsin families, understanding both state-specific requirements and local resources like the Aging and Disability Resource Centers to ensure comprehensive care planning.
Founded in 1920, Ruder Ware provides business, employment, estate planning, and litigation services. A full-service law firm, over 45 attorneys provide clients with a one-stop approach to their legal needs. Ruder Ware, Business Attorneys for Business Success.
Back
Posted on September 4, 2026 by Samuel J. S. Moheban
On September 2, 2026, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Foreign Labor Certification announced that certain H-2A employers may become responsible for retroactive wage adjustments after the Department adopts a new methodology for calculating Adverse Effect Wage Rates. The announcement follows an August 26, 2026 order in United Farm Workers, et al. v. DOL, […]
Posted on August 31, 2026 by Amy E. Ebeling, Jacob A. Schraeder and Morgan H. Sweeney
On August 11, 2026, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) announced a final rule that permanently terminated the Corporate Transparency Act’s (CTA) beneficial ownership reporting requirements for U.S. companies and citizens. FinCEN also stated that it will delete all information U.S. citizens previously submitted to the beneficial ownership information database. This development likely marks the […]
Posted on July 23, 2026 by McKenna K. Coffeen
When applying for Wisconsin Medicaid long-term care programs, financial eligibility is only part of the process. Individuals must also demonstrate that they meet the required level of care through what is known as the functional screen test. The functional screen is a standardized assessment used in Wisconsin to determine whether an individual qualifies for Medicaid-funded […]
Posted on July 17, 2026 by Mary Ellen Schill and Morgan H. Sweeney
Due to the sustained increase in the price of fuel, the Internal Revenue Service (the “IRS”) has increased the optional standard mileage rates mid-year for computing the deductible cost of operating an automobile for business, medical, and moving expenses. Effective July 1, 2026, the optional standard mileage rates are 76 cents per mile for business […]
Posted on July 8, 2026 by McKenna K. Coffeen
One of the most common concerns families face when discussing long-term care is cost. Whether care is provided at home, in an assisted living facility, or in a nursing home, long-term care expenses can become significant very quickly. In Wisconsin, nursing home care can cost thousands of dollars each month, and even part-time in-home assistance […]
Posted on June 24, 2026 by McKenna K. Coffeen
When a loved one begins to need help with daily activities, families often face difficult decisions about care. Long-term care is not limited to nursing homes—it includes a wide range of services that help individuals manage daily living when age, illness, disability, or cognitive decline makes independent living difficult. Long-term care may include help with […]
Posted on May 29, 2026 by Mary Ellen Schill
On May 29, 2026, the IRS announced the Health Savings Account limits for 2027. With respect to contribution limits, and reflecting the inflationary environment, the limits are higher than the ones for 2026 and the required deductible and out-of-pocket maximums have increased as well. As a reminder, these inflation adjusted amounts are effective for calendar […]
Posted on May 28, 2026 by Nicole L. Stangl
On May 14, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”) submitted a proposal to the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (“OIRA”) seeking to rescind EEO-1 reporting requirements for all eligible employers, along with EEO-2, EEO-3, EEO-4, and EEO-5 data collection, and reporting requirements under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Americans […]
Posted on February 11, 2026 by Samuel J. S. Moheban
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has announced that the registration period for the fiscal year 2027 H-1B cap lottery will open at 12:00 p.m. Eastern Time on March 4 and will close at 12:00 p.m. Eastern Time on March 19. The registration fee for this year is $215 per registration. New Weighted Selection Process […]
Posted on December 29, 2025 by Mary Ellen Schill
The Internal Revenue Service issued the 2026 optional standard mileage rates today for computing the deductible cost of operating an automobile for business, charitable, medical, or moving purposes. The most notable change is the per mile increase for business use mileage. Effective January 1, 2026, the optional standard mileage rates for the use of a […]
More Insights...
