Plantation Special Needs Planning Attorney

Special needs planning for Broward County families, from a firm led by a Broward elder law leader

Broward County is home to nearly two million people, and a great many local families are raising or supporting 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 Broward 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 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 repays 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 covers each option in full, and this page is about what that planning looks like for families here in Broward.

Key takeaways

• A special needs trust lets a Broward family member keep Medicaid and SSI while still benefiting from a gift, inheritance, or settlement.
• Elder Needs Law keeps a by-appointment Plantation office and serves all of Broward, and Managing Partner Jason Neufeld co-chairs the Broward County Bar Association Elder Law Section.
• Most special needs planning is handled on a flat fee, so the cost is known before you start, and the first consultation is free.
• 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.
• 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 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 the answer comes down to whose money is going in. A short video from the firm walks through 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. Getting that choice right is where the plan begins.

How this plays out for a Broward family

Consider a family in Pembroke Pines. Their daughter has Down syndrome, receives Medicaid and SSI, and her grandmother wants to leave her $40,000. Left to the daughter directly, that gift would end her benefits the month it arrived. Because the grandmother is still living, there is time to fix it. Her will is revised to leave the $40,000 to a third-party special needs trust instead of to the granddaughter. When the time comes, the money flows into the trust, the daughter's benefits continue untouched, and the trustee uses it for the extras her benefits never cover. The lesson is simple. Name the trust, never the person.

Special needs planning in Broward County

The Plantation satellite office

The Plantation office sits by appointment on West Sunrise Boulevard, an easy reach for families in Sunrise, Davie, and Fort Lauderdale. Managing Partner Jason Neufeld is a board-certified elder law attorney and co-chairs the Broward County Bar Association Elder Law Section, so Broward families work with a firm rooted in the county's own elder law community. Most matters are handled on a flat fee, and plenty of families never come in at all, meeting instead by video and phone.

The Broward communities we serve

From Plantation we work with families across Broward, including Fort Lauderdale, Davie, Sunrise, Tamarac, Coral Springs, Weston, Pembroke Pines, Miramar, Hollywood, Hallandale Beach, and Deerfield Beach. The office is central enough that most of the county is a short drive, though the video option means distance rarely matters.

Broward's local offices and courts

The benefit rules are federal, but Broward families deal with county offices to make them work. Medicaid eligibility runs through the state's Department of Children and Families, and disability services flow through the Agency for Persons with Disabilities, whose Southeast Region office in Fort Lauderdale covers Broward. We handle Florida Medicaid eligibility so the trust and the application stay in step.

If a disabled adult needs someone with legal authority once they turn 18, that case is heard in the Broward County probate court, part of the Seventeenth Judicial Circuit. Depending on how much support the person needs, that can mean guardianship, or a lighter durable power of attorney and health care surrogate that leaves them more independence.

Getting paid to care for a family member

Many Broward families care for a disabled relative at home 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. Where is your Plantation office, and do I have to come in?

A. The Plantation office is by appointment on West Sunrise Boulevard, and most Broward families handle everything by video and phone without coming in. Hablamos Espanol.

Q. Do you serve all of Broward County for special needs planning?

A. Yes. From Plantation we work with families across Broward, from Fort Lauderdale, Davie, and Sunrise to Pembroke Pines, Weston, Coral Springs, and the coast.

Q. How much does special needs planning cost?

A. Most special needs planning is handled on a flat fee, so you know the cost before you start rather than watching an hourly meter. The first consultation is free.

Q. A grandparent's will leaves money directly to my disabled child. Can it be fixed?

A. Usually yes. If the person leaving the gift is still living, the will can be revised to leave it to a third-party special needs trust. If the money has already been received, a first-party trust under 42 U.S.C. section 1396p(d)(4)(A) can still shelter it.

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. My disabled relative is already in a Broward facility or group home. Is it too late?

A. No. A third-party trust can still be created by parents or grandparents, and an inheritance can be redirected into it. Planning while your relative already receives benefits is common, not a problem.

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 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 Plantation 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 relative'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 works with Broward families on a flat fee, with a free first consultation, from its Plantation 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. Plantation office serving Broward County 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.