Estate Planning Lawyer Los Angeles

Personal Injury Trust

A Personal Injury Trust is any form of trust where funds are held by trustees for the benefit of a person who has suffered an injury. Personal Injury Trusts are also sometimes referred to as Special Needs Trusts.  A Personal Injury Trust is funded exclusively by funds derived from settlement funds which were a consequence of an injured person’s accident and surrounding lawsuit.

One distinct benefit of a Personal Injury Trust is that it allows the beneficiary to have their basic survival needs taken care of by the trust for the beneficiary, while the value of the trust is ignored for the assessment of taxation and eligibility to meet other state and governmental disability benefits.

If you imagine the cost-of-living of a person who has been injured, who is disabled, or who has special needs, you might imagine that those day-to-day costs could be quite extensive in the case of some.  Those costs of living might include things such as ‘round the clock medical attention and in-home care, not to mention special medical devices and medical prescriptions, etc.  For this reason, the Personal Injury Trust provides a much-needed service for those in need.

Another potential advantage of a Personal Injury Trusts is also a practical one.  In the case of those who are suffering from the effects of an accident or injury, or those who can’t take care of themselves, (such as minors, the elderly, the severely handicapped or others), they may have no ability nor experience to handle a large sum of money.

Finally, the Personal Injury Trust protects the beneficiary from those who might try to take advantage of them and their money.  Given the entirety of funds are held by trustees for the beneficiary, there is little to no chance of misuse of funds, and there is always legal recourse should that happen.

To determine if a Personal Injury Trust might be right for you or someone you know and love, please seek the assistance and counsel of an estate-planning lawyer.