Special Needs Trust Attorneys in Northern Virginia
Provide for a Loved One Without Putting Their Benefits at Risk.
Provide for a loved one with a disability without risking their Medicaid or SSI eligibility, through a carefully drafted special needs trust in Northern Virginia.
Support Without Sacrifice
A Direct Gift Can Cost a Loved One Their Benefits
Protects Benefits
Keeps Medicaid and SSI eligibility intact
Supplements
Adds to, rather than replaces, support
Lifelong
Plans for a loved one’s whole future
Sources: 42 U.S.C. § 1396p(d)(4); Social Security Administration SSI rules.
A person with a disability can lose needs-based benefits like Medicaid and SSI if they receive money directly, even an inheritance meant to help. A special needs trust solves this, holding funds to supplement their care without counting against eligibility. It is the difference between helping and accidentally harming.
The Trust That Lets You Help Without Hurting.
Families who want to provide for a loved one with a disability face a painful trap. Many critical benefits, like Medicaid and Supplemental Security Income, are needs-based, so a direct gift or inheritance can disqualify the very person it was meant to help.
A special needs trust is the solution. It holds funds for the benefit of the person with a disability, used to supplement, not replace, their government benefits. Managed correctly, it pays for things that improve quality of life while preserving eligibility.
These trusts have strict rules, and a misstep can cost benefits. We draft and structure special needs trusts carefully so your loved one is supported for the long term without losing the support they rely on.
Schedule a ConsultationWhere We Come In
- ✓ You want to provide for a loved one with a disability
- ✓ You worry an inheritance could cost them benefits
- ✓ You are a parent planning for a child’s future
- ✓ You received a settlement for a person with a disability
- ✓ You want to supplement, not replace, their care
- ✓ You need the trust structured to preserve eligibility
What We Handle
Special Needs Trust Matters We Handle
Careful structuring that supports a loved one and protects their benefits.
Third-Party Trusts
Fund a loved one’s future with your own assets.
First-Party Trusts
Hold a person’s own funds while preserving benefits.
Benefit Preservation
Structure the trust to protect Medicaid and SSI.
Trustee Guidance
Help the trustee spend within the rules.
Settlement Planning
Protect a settlement received by a person with a disability.
Long-Term Care Coordination
Align the trust with the full plan of care.
Why Families Choose Us
We Protect Benefits
The trust is built to preserve Medicaid and SSI eligibility.
We Plan for Life
We structure support for a loved one’s whole future.
We Get the Rules Right
These trusts are strict, and we draft them carefully.
We Guide the Trustee
We help the trustee spend in ways that do not cost benefits.
What to Expect
How Working With Us Begins
1
Listen
We start with your family, your assets, and your goals, not a form. We learn what matters to you.
2
Map the Plan
We recommend the documents and strategies that fit your situation, and explain the why.
3
Prepare & File
We draft your documents with care and make sure everything is executed correctly.
4
Stand By You
We keep your plan current as life changes, so it still works when it is needed.
Attorney Insight
“Special needs planning is some of the most important work I do, because the stakes are so personal and the trap is so easy to fall into. A grandparent leaves a loving inheritance to a grandchild with a disability, and that gift accidentally disqualifies the child from the Medicaid and SSI they depend on. A special needs trust prevents that heartbreak. It lets the family provide for everything that makes life better, while preserving the benefits that cover the essentials. Getting the structure exactly right is what protects both.”
Adam L. Engel, Esq.
Estate Planning & Probate Attorney, Shin Law Office
Related Reading
Trusts and Planning for Loved Ones in Northern Virginia
More on how Virginia trusts work and where a trust for a loved one fits in your plan.
A Complete Virginia Estate Plan
Where a trust for a loved one fits alongside your will, powers of attorney, and directives.
How Virginia Trusts Work
Revocable, irrevocable, and testamentary trusts under Virginia law, explained.
Protecting Assets in Trust
How trust structures shield assets and provide for the people who depend on you.
Protect a Loved One’s Future and Their Benefits
A special needs trust lets you provide for a loved one with a disability without risking the benefits they rely on. We structure it with care. Serving Northern Virginia.
Prefer to talk now? Reach Adam L. Engel, Esq. at 571-445-6565.
Based in Loudoun County and serving clients across Virginia, Washington DC, and Maryland, we know that when everything’s on the line, the right attorney doesn’t just make a difference, they determine the outcome.
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Copyright © 2025 Shin Law Office, PLC. All rights reserved.
Copyright © 2025 Shin Law Office, PLC. All rights reserved.
Reproduction of any content on this site is prohibited except for individual, non-commercial, informational use. This limited permission does not allow modification, distribution, or incorporation of any content into other works or publications in any medium. You may not reproduce or distribute content from this site to any third party.