Miami Special Needs Planning Attorney

Local special needs planning for Miami-Dade families, in English and Spanish

Miami-Dade is Florida's most populous county, home to roughly 2.7 million residents, and thousands of local families are raising or caring for someone with a disability. For them, one detail can undo years of benefits. Money left straight to a disabled relative who receives SSI can stop the monthly check within weeks.

The fix is a special needs trust. Assets held in a properly drafted trust do not count against Medicaid or Supplemental Security Income (SSI), so a Miami family member can receive a gift, inheritance, or settlement and keep their benefits. Whether it works depends on whose money funds it and how carefully the trustee spends it. The reason it matters so much is the $2,000 resource limit behind those benefits, a cap unchanged since 1989 that a single inheritance can blow past.

• A parent's money funds a third-party trust with no Medicaid payback.
• The disabled person's own money funds a first-party trust that must repay Medicaid at death under 42 U.S.C. section 1396p(d)(4)(A).

That is the short version. Our statewide guide to special needs planning in Florida walks through every option in depth, and this page focuses on what that planning looks like for families here in Miami-Dade.

Key takeaways

• A special needs trust lets a Miami-Dade family member keep Medicaid and SSI while still benefiting from a gift, inheritance, or settlement.
• Whose money funds the trust sets the type. A parent's money means no Medicaid payback. The beneficiary's own money means payback at death.
• Elder Needs Law meets Miami families at a by-appointment office near Dadeland and its main office in Aventura, and works remotely across the county. Hablamos Espanol.
• ABLE accounts expanded on January 1, 2026 to anyone disabled before age 46, with up to $100,000 protected and a $19,000 annual contribution limit for 2026.
• The consultation is free, and most Miami-Dade families finish the whole process without leaving home.

The basics, in brief

Special needs planning has a few moving parts, and the full detail lives on our statewide page. In short, a third-party trust is funded by parents or grandparents 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.

For families who want the full mechanics, a separate guide covers how a special needs trust is drafted and administered, from the distribution language to the trustee's day-to-day choices.

An ABLE account can sit alongside the trust for everyday spending, and how an ABLE account and a special needs trust work together decides which expenses run through which account.

Injury settlements and first-party trusts in Miami

In a metro the size of Miami, personal-injury and medical-malpractice settlements are common, and they create a specific problem. When the person who was hurt already relies on Medicaid or SSI, receiving the settlement outright can end those benefits overnight. A first-party trust, authorized under 42 U.S.C. section 1396p(d)(4)(A), lets them keep both the money and the benefits, and a first-party trust protects SSI and Medicaid as long as it is set up before age 65 and repays the state at death. These cases often reach an elder law attorney by referral from the personal-injury lawyer, so the settlement is not lost to a benefits cutoff.

How this plays out for a Miami family

Consider how this often looks in Miami-Dade. A young adult from Kendall was hurt in a crash years ago and has relied on Medicaid and SSI ever since. A lawsuit settles for $300,000. Paid to them directly, that money would stop the SSI checks and end Medicaid the following month. Paid instead into a first-party special needs trust before it reaches their name, the benefits continue without a break, and the trustee can use the settlement for a wheelchair-accessible van, therapy Medicaid will not cover, and a caregiver. Whatever is left when they pass away repays the state. The person kept their benefits and gained the extras those benefits never reach.

Special needs planning in Miami-Dade

Where we meet Miami families

Elder Needs Law keeps a by-appointment office near Dadeland at the south end of the county, and its main office a short drive north in Aventura. From there we work with families across Miami-Dade, from Kendall, Pinecrest, Coral Gables, and South Miami to Coconut Grove, Cutler Bay, Doral, Westchester, Hialeah, and the Beaches. Most families never need to come in at all. We run the whole process by video and phone, in English and Spanish. Hablamos Espanol.

Getting to the Dadeland office

The Miami office sits near Dadeland, just off US-1 and a short distance from the Dadeland Metrorail stations, so families from Kendall, Pinecrest, and South Miami reach it quickly. Meetings are by appointment, which keeps the wait short and the conversation focused on your family. Plenty of Miami-Dade families skip the trip and meet by video instead, whichever is easier for you.

Local benefit offices and the courts

The benefit rules are federal, but Miami families deal with local offices to make them work. Medicaid eligibility runs through the local Department of Children and Families service centers, and disability services flow through the state's Agency for Persons with Disabilities and its iBudget waiver for Miami-Dade. We handle Florida Medicaid eligibility so the trust and the application do not work against each other.

If a disabled adult needs someone with legal authority once they turn 18, that case is heard in the Miami-Dade probate court. Depending on how much support the person needs, that can mean guardianship, or a lighter arrangement such as a durable power of attorney and health care surrogate that leaves them more independence.

Local resources for Miami-Dade families

Beyond the trust itself, several Miami-Dade resources support families raising a disabled loved one. The Agency for Persons with Disabilities runs its Southern Region for Miami-Dade, which administers the iBudget waiver, local school districts run transition programs as students approach 18, and nonprofits across the county offer respite and day programs. A special needs plan works best when it is built around these programs, so the trust pays for what they do not and nothing quietly cancels out a benefit your family already receives.

Getting paid to care for a family member

Many Miami households care for a disabled relative at home, often across generations. A personal service contract, or family caregiver agreement, is a written agreement that pays a relative for that care, and done correctly it can also fit into a Medicaid plan. Families can get paid for caring for a disabled family member when the agreement is in writing, signed before the care starts, priced at a fair-market rate, and reported as income. Because a misstep here can trigger a Medicaid penalty, this is drafting to do with an attorney.

Frequently asked questions

Q. Where is your Miami office, and do I have to come in?

A. Our Miami office is by appointment near Dadeland, and the firm's main office is in Aventura. Most Miami-Dade families handle everything by video and phone and never come in. Hablamos Espanol.

Q. Which Miami-Dade areas do you serve for special needs planning?

A. All of them. We work with families from Kendall, Pinecrest, Coral Gables, and South Miami to Doral, Westchester, Hialeah, and the Beaches, in person or remotely.

Q. My relative is getting a personal-injury settlement. Will it end their benefits?

A. It can if it lands in their name. A first-party special needs trust, authorized under 42 U.S.C. section 1396p(d)(4)(A), holds the settlement so it does not count against SSI or Medicaid, as long as it is set up before age 65 and repays the state at death.

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. Do you handle special needs planning in Spanish?

A. Yes. Hablamos Espanol, and we regularly handle Miami-Dade special needs planning cases entirely in Spanish.

Q. My adult child already receives Medicaid and lives in a group home. Is it too late to set up a trust?

A. No. Parents and grandparents can create a third-party special needs trust at any time, and an inheritance meant for your child can be pointed into it so it never counts against their benefits. Planning while your child already receives benefits is common, not a problem.

Q. Do we need to visit a Social Security office in Miami?

A. Usually not. Miami-Dade has several Social Security field offices, but most SSI and trust questions get handled without a visit. If a trip is needed, we can tell you which office covers your address.

Take the next step

Getting started is simple. Make a list of the benefits your Miami-Dade family member receives, gather any settlement or inheritance details and your current wills, trusts, and beneficiary designations, and bring them to a first meeting. A board-certified elder law attorney will see where the money is headed and set up the right trust so nothing lands in your relative's name by accident.

Your loved one keeps the Medicaid and SSI they depend on, and the money you set aside pays for the therapies, care, and everyday things those benefits never cover. Elder Needs Law offers a free consultation to Miami-Dade families, at the Miami or Aventura office or by video. 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. Serving Miami-Dade 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.