Planning for the long-term financial security and care of your adult child, ensuring they are protected after you are gone, while preserving their pension.
Proactively establishing a trust within your estate plan to provide for the future accommodation and care needs of your young child.
Exploring ways to contribute to a disabled family member's care through gifting concessions, without affecting your Age Pension.
Seeking legal and financial structures to formalise the ongoing care and financial support for a person with a severe disability in your care.
Fulfilling the terms of a Will that requires the establishment of a Special Disability Trust for a beneficiary as part of the estate administration process.
We expertly draft and integrate a compliant Special Disability Trust into your Will, ensuring it is established upon your death to protect your loved one.
Our team assists in establishing a Special Disability Trust during your lifetime (inter vivos), allowing for immediate funding and asset protection.
We provide ongoing legal advice and guidance to Trustees on compliant administration, expenditure rules, and annual reporting obligations.
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We begin by assessing the beneficiary’s eligibility and discussing your family’s goals to determine if a Special Disability Trust is the right strategy.
We begin by assessing the beneficiary’s eligibility and discussing your family’s goals to determine if a Special Disability Trust is the right strategy.
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Our lawyers provide expert advice on appointing trustees and structure the trust to best suit your financial circumstances and estate planning objectives.
Our lawyers provide expert advice on appointing trustees and structure the trust to best suit your financial circumstances and estate planning objectives.
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We meticulously draft the Special Disability Trust deed, ensuring all clauses comply with the strict requirements of the Social Security Act and Model Trust Deed.
We meticulously draft the Special Disability Trust deed, ensuring all clauses comply with the strict requirements of the Social Security Act and Model Trust Deed.
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We guide you through the formal signing process and provide clear advice to the appointed trustees on their legal duties and responsibilities.
We guide you through the formal signing process and provide clear advice to the appointed trustees on their legal duties and responsibilities.
Our Wills & Estates lawyers have over 50 years of experience, providing expert advice to ensure your Special Disability Trust is sound and your loved one is protected.
Our Wills & Estates lawyers have over 50 years of experience, providing expert advice to ensure your Special Disability Trust is sound and your loved one is protected.
We understand the sensitive nature of planning for a loved one with a disability and provide compassionate, tailored advice for your family’s unique situation.
We understand the sensitive nature of planning for a loved one with a disability and provide compassionate, tailored advice for your family’s unique situation.
Our focus is on maximising asset protection for the beneficiary while preserving their crucial Disability Support Pension entitlements.
Our focus is on maximising asset protection for the beneficiary while preserving their crucial Disability Support Pension entitlements.
We provide clear, plain-English advice on the complex rules, trustee duties, and ongoing requirements of Special Disability Trusts.
We provide clear, plain-English advice on the complex rules, trustee duties, and ongoing requirements of Special Disability Trusts.
A Special Disability Trust is a specialised legal structure created to fund the future care and accommodation needs of a loved one with a severe disability. It allows families to set aside significant assets to enhance the beneficiary’s quality of life without compromising their eligibility for the Disability Support Pension.
This powerful estate planning tool provides peace of mind, ensuring financial security for a vulnerable person long after you are gone. Establishing a compliant Special Disability Trust requires careful drafting to meet strict legislative rules, making expert legal advice essential to secure these important benefits.
The primary advantage of a Special Disability Trust is the significant Centrelink asset test exemption. Assets held in the trust, up to a generous indexed limit, do not affect the beneficiary’s pension entitlements. Additionally, family members who gift funds into the trust may also be eligible for their own gifting concessions.
Beyond pension protection, these trusts provide robust asset protection for a potentially vulnerable beneficiary. Properly structuring a Special Disability Trust is crucial to unlock these benefits, and PBL Law Group can provide the specialist advice needed to maximise these financial advantages for your family.
To qualify for its unique concessions, a Special Disability Trust must meet strict rules. It can only have one principal beneficiary, who must be assessed by Centrelink as having a ‘severe disability’. The trust’s primary purpose must be for the reasonable care and accommodation needs of that beneficiary.
The trust deed itself must contain specific compulsory clauses outlined in the Model Trust Deed. Failure to meet these precise legislative requirements can result in the loss of all social security concessions. Our lawyers ensure your trust is structured for full compliance, avoiding costly errors.
A Special Disability Trust must be managed by either an independent professional trustee or at least two individual trustees. Appointing the right people is a critical decision, as they are responsible for managing the trust’s assets and ensuring all expenditure complies with strict annual limits and reporting obligations.
Trustees have significant duties, including preparing annual financial statements and tax returns. Choosing trustworthy and capable trustees is paramount to the long-term success of the trust. PBL Law Group provides expert guidance on trustee selection and their legal responsibilities.
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A Special Disability Trust is a specific type of trust established to provide for the future care and accommodation needs of a person with a severe disability, while protecting their eligibility for the Disability Support Pension.
The beneficiary must meet the strict definition of ‘severely disabled’ under the Social Security Act. This is assessed by Centrelink and generally involves being eligible for the Disability Support Pension and having significant care needs.
A key benefit is that assets held in the trust (up to a certain limit, indexed annually) are exempt from Centrelink’s assets test for the beneficiary, protecting their pension entitlements.
A Special Disability Trust can be created by a trust deed during a family member’s lifetime, or it can be established through specific instructions laid out in their Will, taking effect after they pass away.
Generally, parents and immediate family members are the primary contributors. Contributions can also come from a bequest or a superannuation death benefit.
Yes. Eligible family members who gift assets to a Special Disability Trust may receive a gifting concession, which can improve their own social security position (e.g., their eligibility for the Age Pension).
The primary purpose is to fund the beneficiary’s ‘reasonable care and accommodation needs,’ such as medical expenses, specialised equipment, and housing costs.
Yes, a Special Disability Trust can pay for discretionary items not directly related to care, such as recreation or entertainment, up to an annual limit that is indexed each year.
Yes. If the trust owns a home that is the beneficiary’s principal place of residence, the value of that home is exempt from the Special Disability Trust’s asset limit for Centrelink purposes.
The trust can hold assets up to a specific limit (indexed annually) without affecting the beneficiary’s pension. As of July 2024, this limit is approximately $813,250, plus the primary residence.
A Special Disability Trust has strict rules on eligibility, purpose, and spending but offers significant Centrelink concessions. A regular Protective Trust is more flexible but does not provide the same social security benefits.
The trust must have an independent professional trustee or more than one individual trustee. Trustees must manage the trust’s assets and reporting requirements in the beneficiary’s best interest.
The trustee must provide annual financial statements and a statutory declaration to Centrelink or DVA, confirming the trust’s expenditure complied with the rules.
A Special Disability Trust is often most beneficial for families who want to provide assets for a disabled loved one that exceed the normal Centrelink assets test limit but are within the Special Disability Trust’s concessional limit.
Yes, the person with a disability may work up to 7 hours per week in open employment or unlimited hours within the Supported Wage System without affecting their eligibility.
Yes, a Special Disability Trust must lodge annual tax returns. However, any undistributed income is generally taxed at the beneficiary’s personal marginal tax rate, which is more favourable than standard trust tax rates.
No. The beneficiary (or their partner) cannot transfer their own assets into the trust, with the exception of a bequest or superannuation death benefit received within the last 3 years.
When the beneficiary dies, the trust terminates. The remaining assets are then distributed to the residual beneficiaries as specified in the original trust deed or Will that established the trust.
No. A Special Disability Trust cannot be used to pay immediate family members for providing care, accommodation, or maintenance services to the beneficiary.
Setting up a Special Disability Trust involves complex legal and social security rules. A specialist lawyer ensures the trust deed is compliant, advises on eligibility, and integrates the trust into your broader estate plan to properly secure your loved one’s future.
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