Aventura Special Needs Planning Attorney

In-person and remote special needs planning from the main office of Elder Needs Law

Aventura is where Elder Needs Law is based, and it sits right on the seam between Miami-Dade and Broward. Families on both sides of that line arrive with the same fear, that one gift or inheritance will cost a disabled child the benefits they count on.

The answer is a special needs trust. Assets held in a properly drafted trust are not counted against Medicaid or Supplemental Security Income (SSI), so a child or adult with a disability can receive money and keep those benefits. Two things decide whether it works, whose money funds the trust and how the trustee spends it. The pressure comes from the $2,000 resource limit behind both programs, a figure that has not moved since 1989, so even a modest inheritance can end eligibility.

• Money from parents or grandparents builds a third-party trust, which never has to repay Medicaid.
• The disabled person's own money builds a first-party trust, which repays the state at death under 42 U.S.C. section 1396p(d)(4)(A).

That is the outline. Our statewide guide to special needs planning in Florida covers each option in full, and this page is about how families near Aventura put it in place.

Key takeaways

• A special needs trust protects Medicaid and SSI while still paying for the care and extras those programs skip.
• Aventura is the home office for Elder Needs Law, so North Miami-Dade and South Broward families can meet a board-certified attorney in person, not only by phone.
• Because Aventura sits on the county line, the firm handles both Miami-Dade and Broward cases, each with its own local offices and courts.
• Whose money funds the trust sets the type. Third-party for a parent's money with no payback, first-party for the beneficiary's money with payback at death.
• ABLE accounts expanded on January 1, 2026 to anyone disabled before age 46, with up to $100,000 protected. The consultation is free.

The basics, in brief

The full mechanics live on the statewide page, so here is the short version. A third-party trust is funded by family with their own money and leaves no Medicaid payback, while a first-party trust holds the disabled person's own money and repays the state at death. Florida recognizes both under Florida Statutes section 736.04117.

Families who want the detail can see how a special needs trust is drafted and administered, which turns on the distribution language and the trustee's everyday judgment.

An ABLE account often rounds out the plan for smaller, day-to-day spending, and how an ABLE account and a special needs trust work together sorts out which one pays for what.

First-party or third-party trusts

The first question in most cases is which of the two main trusts you need, and it comes down to whose money is going in. A short video from the firm explains the difference between a first-party and a third-party special needs trust in plain terms.

In short, a first-party special needs trust holds the disabled person's own money and repays Medicaid at death, while a third-party trust holds a relative's money and never repays. Which one fits is the first fork in the plan.

Planning ahead for an adult child

Many Aventura families are not reacting to a crisis. They are planning years in advance for an adult child who will need support for life, and that is where a third-party trust does its best work. Built into your special needs estate planning and funded later through a will or a life insurance policy that names the trust, it lets you provide for your child without ever putting assets in their name and without a Medicaid payback. For parents thinking about what happens after they are gone, this is usually the center of the plan.

How this plays out for an Aventura family

Consider a common situation in Sunny Isles. A couple has an adult son with autism who receives Medicaid and SSI and lives in a supported apartment. They want to leave him something without ending his benefits. Rather than name him in their wills, they create a third-party special needs trust and name it as the beneficiary of a life insurance policy. When they pass away, the policy pays into the trust, not to their son, so his benefits never lapse. The trustee then uses the money for travel, a companion, dental work, and technology Medicaid does not cover. Nothing counts against him, because nothing was ever his to count.

Special needs planning across the county line

Meeting at the Aventura office

Aventura is the firm's home office, just off Biscayne Boulevard near Aventura Mall, so families from Sunny Isles, North Miami Beach, and Golden Beach can sit down with a board-certified elder law attorney face to face. Meetings are by appointment, which keeps the visit short and focused. Plenty of families still prefer video once they know the office is there if they want it, and either way works.

The neighborhoods we serve

From Aventura we work with North Miami-Dade communities including Sunny Isles Beach, North Miami Beach, Golden Beach, Bal Harbour, Bay Harbor Islands, Surfside, and Miami Gardens, and we cross the line into South Broward for families in Hallandale Beach and Hollywood. The office sits close enough to the border that clients come from both counties in the same week.

Two counties, two sets of local offices

Sitting on the line means watching two local systems. Medicaid eligibility for both counties runs through the state's Department of Children and Families, and disability services flow through the Agency for Persons with Disabilities, which places Miami-Dade in its Southern Region and Broward in its Southeast Region. We handle Florida Medicaid eligibility on either side so the trust and the application stay in step.

The courts split the same way. Guardianship for an adult in Aventura is heard in the Miami-Dade probate court, while a family a few blocks north in Hallandale files in Broward. When a disabled child turns 18 and needs help with decisions, we handle guardianship or a lighter power of attorney in whichever county applies.

A practice built for an international community

Aventura is one of South Florida's most international communities, home to families from across Latin America and beyond. We handle these matters in English and Spanish, and we are used to plans that reach across borders, from relatives who split time between countries to assets and beneficiaries in more than one place. Hablamos Espanol.

Getting paid to care for a family member

Some Aventura families provide the care themselves and want that work recognized. A personal service contract, also called a family caregiver agreement, is a written agreement that pays a relative for care and, handled correctly, fits into a Medicaid plan. Families can get paid for caring for a disabled family member when the agreement is written and signed before the care begins, priced at a fair-market rate, and reported as income. Because a misstep can look like a gift and trigger a penalty, this belongs in an attorney's hands.

Frequently asked questions

Q. Can I meet the attorney in person in Aventura?

A. Yes. Aventura is the main office for Elder Needs Law, so North Miami-Dade and South Broward families can meet a board-certified elder law attorney in person. Many families also handle everything by video and phone. Hablamos Espanol.

Q. Do you help families in Broward as well as Miami-Dade?

A. Yes. The Aventura office sits on the county line, so we regularly serve Hallandale Beach, Hollywood, and the rest of South Broward alongside North Miami-Dade, handling the Medicaid offices and courts in whichever county applies.

Q. My child's money is already in their name. Can a trust still help?

A. Yes. When the money already belongs to the person with a disability, a first-party special needs trust can shelter it under 42 U.S.C. section 1396p(d)(4)(A), as long as it is set up before age 65 and repays the state at death.

Q. Does a third-party trust ever have to repay Medicaid?

A. No. A third-party trust, funded with a parent's or grandparent's own money, has no Medicaid payback, and whatever is left can pass to other relatives you name.

Q. Who qualifies for an ABLE account now, and how much fits in one?

A. Since January 1, 2026, anyone whose disability began before age 46 can open one. Up to $100,000 is excluded from the SSI resource limit, and contributions are capped at $19,000 for 2026. The SSA ABLE spotlight page sets out the current rules.

Q. We split time between Florida and another country. Does that change anything?

A. It can affect where documents are signed and how benefits are managed, but a Florida special needs trust still works for a beneficiary who lives in Florida. We plan around families who travel or hold assets in more than one place.

Q. When should we start special needs planning?

A. As early as possible, ideally when a disability is diagnosed or anticipated, so there is time to pick the right trust, coordinate benefits, and name a trustee before anything is urgent.

Take the next step

Starting is simple. Make a list of the benefits your child or family member receives, gather any inheritance or policy details and your current wills, trusts, and beneficiary designations, and bring them to a first meeting at the Aventura office or a video call. A board-certified elder law attorney will show you which trust fits and how to fund it so nothing ever lands in your child's name by accident.

Your loved one keeps the Medicaid and SSI they rely on, and the money you set aside pays for the therapies, care, and everyday comforts those benefits never reach. Elder Needs Law offers a free consultation from its Aventura home office or by video, across North Miami-Dade and South Broward. Contact Elder Needs Law to schedule your consultation.

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Elder Needs Law, PLLC. Responsible attorney Jason Neufeld, Board-Certified Elder Law Attorney. Main office in Aventura, FL, serving North Miami-Dade, South Broward, and all of Florida.

This page is general information about Florida and federal law as of its publication date and is not legal advice. Benefit figures and statutes change, so confirm current rules before acting. No reader should act, or refrain from acting, on this information without first hiring a lawyer licensed in their state to review their particular circumstances.