July 2025 Newsletter
From The Certified Elder Law Attorney's Desk:
Can My Special Needs Trust Buy a Home?
By: Catherine B. Read Esquire, CELA*
When a person with a disability receives a settlement from a personal injury lawsuit, often it is best for the person not to receive the settlement directly, but in a special needs trust. Reasons for a special needs trust are varied, but chief reasons include: 1) the beneficiary is a minor, 2) retaining eligibility for the beneficiary’s means-based public benefits, 3) protection from dissipation by the beneficiary, 4) protection from dissipation by others in the beneficiary’s life, and/or 4) protection from the beneficiary’s creditors.
Once the special needs trust is decided upon, the next question from most beneficiaries is: “Can my Special Needs Trust buy a home?
The technical answer is yes. There is no legal prohibition on a special needs trust owning a home.
But just because something can happen, does not mean it should. The considerations are complex for whether and on what terms a person with a disability...