Northern Virginia Special Needs Planning Attorneys

Persons with disabilities often need lifelong assistance with the routine tasks of living. At HALE BALL MURPHY, PLC Carlson Baumgartner Murphy, PLC, our northern Virginia special needs planning attorneys work with adults with disabilities, their families and parents of children with special needs to ensure high-quality care and support in living a full and healthy life.

We routinely work with families of children and adults with special needs to protect inheritances and qualify for public benefit programs. We advise and assist families with persons disabled through medical malpractice or accidents to ensure that any money received as a result of the personal injury is protected.

Our attorneys can assist you with your case involving:

• Special Needs Trusts – Depending on the amount of money you leave behind for your child or spouse with special needs, the government may see this and use it as a reason to cut down their assistance. In order to leave money behind and have it not affect your child’s governmental assistance, it is important to create a special needs trust with an estate planning lawyer. This way, you can still leave them money and property, but you can also feel safe in knowing that it will not reduce the money provided by the government. Speak with a special needs trust attorney for help.
• Guardianships for Young Adults – Many parents of children with special needs consider guardianship as their children approach the age of 18.  Guardianship is needed when the young adult, due to a disability, is unable to receive, process and communicate information sufficiently to protect themselves and their property, without assistance from another person.  The special needs attorneys at HALE BALL MURPHY, PLC Carlson Murphy PLC can educate you about guardianship and less restrictive alternatives, such as medical and financial powers of attorney, for young adults with disabilities.

We can also help you draft medical and financial powers of attorney or establish guardianship and conservatorship so that the parents or a trusted individual can help make the important decisions for the disabled adult. In addition, we can help disabled adults fight against discrimination in child custody cases.

Academy of Special Needs Planners

Many of our estate planning attorneys are members of the Academy of Special Needs Planners. As part of our comprehensive special needs planning services, we can discuss eligibility for Supplemental Security Income (SSI), Medicaid, and other government benefits that may be available to your disabled loved one.

It is important that your affairs are not left intestate. Our special needs lawyers can help you plan your estate using a special needs trust so the assets your child inherits can pay for goods and services not covered by government programs. We can assist in structuring personal injury and medical malpractice settlements to protect eligibility for government assistance. We can also assist with ABLE accounts and other types of trusts (even pet trusts).

Special needs planning is a priority at HALE BALL MURPHY, PLC Carlson Baumgartner Murphy, PLC and is something that is not taken lightly. The proper care and protection of your special needs child deserves exceptional representation.

Call or contact us online to discuss your concerns and special needs planning goals.