A Supplemental Needs Trust can help provide support for a loved one without replacing public benefits.
When properly drafted and used, a Supplemental Needs Trust allows money or property to be held for the benefit of a person with unique needs. The funds can be used for many things that benefits may not fully cover, such as education, transportation, recreation, therapies, personal items, or other quality-of-life needs.
There are two main types of Supplemental Needs Trusts families should understand: third-party trusts and first-party trusts.
Planning for Loved Ones With Special Needs in Idaho
When someone you love needs long-term support, the number of things to consider can start to make planning feel like an impossible puzzle. Let’s look at what is involved and how it can all work together to support your loved one’s future.
Estate Planning Documents Working Together to Support Your Family
A parent in Idaho Falls may be wondering how to leave money for an adult child without affecting Medicaid. A grandparent in Twin Falls may want to include a loved one in their estate plan but worry about giving assets outright. A family in Coeur d’Alene may be trying to understand whether guardianship, conservatorship, or another support option makes sense and how those could affect the rest of their estate planning.
At Alan R. Harrison Law, we help Idaho families put the pieces together to create thoughtful plans for loved ones with unique needs. This page is a starting point for understanding some of the tools that may be part of that plan, including Supplemental Needs Trusts (sometimes referred to as Special Needs Trusts or SNTs), ABLE accounts, guardianship, conservatorship, powers of attorney, and long-term estate planning.
Many families want to leave money or property to a loved one who receives SSI, Medicaid, or other needs-based benefits. A direct inheritance, even one given with love and good intentions, can create problems if it pushes a person over benefit limits. Planning ahead can help avoid those issues before money changes hands.
The goal is not just to protect assets. It is to create a plan that supports your loved one’s quality of life, preserves important resources, and gives trusted people clear direction.
Supplemental Needs Trusts
Third-party Supplemental Needs Trust
A third-party Supplemental Needs Trust is created by someone else for the benefit of a person with unique needs. This may be a parent, grandparent, sibling, or other loved one. The money placed in this type of trust never directly touches the person with unique needs.
For example, parents in Hailey may want to leave funds for their adult child’s transportation, hobbies, and additional care. Instead of leaving that inheritance directly to the adult child, they can direct the funds into a third-party Supplemental Needs Trust managed by a trustee. This allows the parents to provide support without giving the adult child direct control over the inheritance or unintentionally disrupting important benefits.
For example, parents in Hailey may want to leave funds for their adult child’s transportation, hobbies, and additional care. Instead of leaving that inheritance directly to the adult child, they can direct the funds into a third-party Supplemental Needs Trust managed by a trustee. This allows the parents to provide support without giving the adult child direct control over the inheritance or unintentionally disrupting important benefits.
First-party Supplemental Needs Trust
A first-party Supplemental Needs Trust is different. This type of trust is created with money that already belongs to the person with unique needs. It is often used when that person receives money that would exceed eligibility limits for needs-based benefits.
For example, an adult child in Blackfoot may receive an inheritance, settlement, or back payment that puts their benefits at risk. In that situation, a first-party Supplemental Needs Trust may be one option to help remove those assets from being counted for eligibility.
For example, an adult child in Blackfoot may receive an inheritance, settlement, or back payment that puts their benefits at risk. In that situation, a first-party Supplemental Needs Trust may be one option to help remove those assets from being counted for eligibility.
Each type of Supplemental Needs Trust has different rules for how funds may be used, what happens to unused funds after the person passes away, and whether government benefits must be paid back after death.
Achieving a Better Life Experience (ABLE) Accounts
An ABLE account is another tool that may help eligible individuals save money while maintaining access to certain needs-based benefits. To be eligible for an ABLE account, you must have a qualifying disability that began before the age of 46.
ABLE accounts can be useful for everyday savings and expenses. They may help pay for things like housing, education, transportation, employment support, health-related costs, and other qualified expenses.
For some families, an ABLE account works well alongside a Supplemental Needs Trust. The trust may provide broader long-term structure, while the ABLE account may offer more day-to-day flexibility.
It is also important to remember that there are contribution limitations. If the person with the account has a job, additional contributions may be allowed. If applicable, the account may be managed by a conservator or other authorized representative.
ABLE accounts are helpful, but they are not a replacement for every type of planning. The right fit depends on the person’s benefits, resources, needs, and long-term goals. Learn more about these accounts here:
$20,000
Annual contribution limit in 2026. It typically increases annually.
$100,000
Total balance that generally does not count toward SSI eligibility
Before 46
Qualifying disability must have begun before age 46
Anyone
Can contribute, as long as total contributions stay within the annual limits
Decision-Making Support
How Guardianship and Conservatorship Fit In
Guardianship and conservatorship are separate legal tools.
Guardianship generally involves personal, medical, housing, and care-related decisions. Conservatorship involves financial management. Some adults may need one, both, or neither.
For example, an adult child in Blackfoot may be able to make personal decisions with support but may need help managing money. In another family, the concern may be medical decision-making, housing, or services. The right path depends on the person’s actual needs, not just a diagnosis or label.
The key question is: what level of support is actually needed? Guardianship and conservatorship should not be treated as automatic. They should be considered as part of a larger plan that respects safety, dignity, and as much independence as possible.
How Powers of Attorney Fit In
Powers of attorney may be useful when a person understands what they are signing and can consistently cooperate with the authority being given.
A Durable Power of Attorney for Finances may allow an agent to help with bills, banking, benefits-related tasks, property matters, and other financial responsibilities. This is separate from healthcare decision-making.
In Idaho, healthcare planning is commonly handled through a Durable Power of Attorney for Health Care and a Living Will. This allows a person to name a healthcare agent and provide instructions about medical care if they cannot communicate or make decisions for themselves.
A HIPAA release may also be needed so trusted people can receive medical information and speak with providers. Access to medical information is not the same as legal authority to make healthcare decisions.
These tools can be helpful, but they rely on legal capacity and ongoing consent. If a person cannot understand the document, lacks the capacity to agree to the authority being given, or later revokes the authority, additional planning may be needed.
Probate and Inheritance Planning
A will, trust, beneficiary designation, or life insurance policy can unintentionally leave assets directly to a loved one who receives benefits. When that happens, the family may need to take corrective steps after the fact, which can be more stressful and more expensive than planning ahead. Special needs planning should be coordinated with your broader estate planning and probate considerations may include:
✓Updating wills and trusts
✓Reviewing beneficiary designations
✓Creating or updating a Supplemental Needs Trust
✓Considering whether an ABLE account is appropriate
✓Choosing the right trustee or financial decision-maker
✓Making sure extended family members understand the plan
This is especially important when grandparents, siblings, or other relatives also want to leave support for the same loved one.
How These Tools Work Together
No single document solves everything. A strong plan often separates roles clearly.
Trust
May hold and protect funds
Trustee
May manage trust assets
ABLE account
May provide flexible savings
Guardian
May help with personal or medical decisions, if needed
Conservator
May manage finances, if court authority is necessary
Powers of attorney
May allow decision-making support when the person has capacity and cooperation is consistent
When these tools are coordinated, families can reduce confusion and avoid decisions that accidentally work against each other.
Start With the Right Conversation, Talk to Alan R. Harrison Law
If you are planning for a loved one with unique needs, you do not need to know which tool is right before reaching out. That is part of the conversation.
Through our Collaborative Legal Planning Process™, Alan R. Harrison Law helps families understand the options, identify the appropriate level of support, and build a plan that fits their loved one’s life.
Our office is located in Idaho Falls, and we are available to meet virtually with families across Idaho. Call our office or complete our online form to start a conversation about planning for your loved one.
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