Planning for a Lifetime: Attorney Andrea Capita on Protecting Loved Ones with Special Needs (Part I)

For parents raising a child with special needs, much of daily life revolves around immediate responsibilities—medical appointments, education, therapies, and personal care. Yet one of the most important questions can be difficult to address: What will happen when parents are no longer able to provide that care?

Attorney Andrea Capita, founder of Capita Law LLC, works with families in Pennsylvania and New Jersey to help them prepare for that future.

With offices located in Pike County Pennsylvania and northern New Jersey, Attorney Capita focuses on estate planning, estate and trust administration, elder law, long-term care and special needs planning.

Through her work, she helps families understand how thoughtful legal planning can protect loved ones while preserving their access to essential government assistance.

Planning beyond immediate care

According to Attorney Capita, one of the biggest concerns for families with a disabled loved ones is ensuring that financial support continues without unintentionally jeopardizing government benefits.

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Many government assistance programs have income and asset limits to qualify. An inheritance left directly to someone receiving those benefits could potentially make that person financially ineligible for such government assistance programs.

“What I do is I work with clients to prepare the appropriate estate plan to provide for their disabled beneficiary” Attorney Capita explained.

The goal is to structure the estate plan so that the Client can provide for the disabled beneficiary and improve the disabled beneficiary’s quality of life without unnecessarily interfering with disabled beneficiary’s current or future eligibility for government benefits.

“The goal is to provide for these disabled beneficiaries so that they can have money to enrich their lives beyond what the state provides.”

One important tool is a supplemental needs trust, which allows designated assets to be managed for a person with disabilities.

Understanding supplemental needs trusts

Attorney Capita explained that a trust generally involves three roles: the grantor, who creates it; the trustee, who manages its assets; and the beneficiary, who receives its benefits.

For families, understanding the difference between a third-party and a first-party supplemental needs trust is particularly important.

A third-party trust is established using assets belonging to someone other than the disabled beneficiary, such as a parent or grandparent.

For example, parents might leave $100,000 in trust for their disabled child, with instructions that any remaining funds eventually pass to another child.

Under the applicable third-party supplemental needs trust rules, any remaining assets held in this trust at the death of the disabled beneficiary are distributed to another person and not designated to reimburse the state (such as Medicaid) for benefits previously provided to the disabled beneficiary.

A first-party trust, however, involves assets that already belong to the disabled individual. Different rules apply, including Medicaid repayment requirements.

“It really comes down to whose money is funding the trust – who is the Grantor,” Attorney Capita explained.

This distinction is why Attorney Capita encourages families to proactively plan to provide for any disabled beneficiary.

Three mistakes families should avoid

Through her practice, Attorney Capita has observed several recurring mistakes.

The first is simply postponing estate planning.

“Just sticking your head in the sand because you don’t want to talk about your death or your spouse’s death—that’s [the] number one problem. You need to have this conversation.”

The second is disinheriting a disabled child and leaving everything to a sibling, with the informal expectation that the sibling will provide financial support.

Attorney Capita cautioned that there are several issues with such an estate plan such as finding a legal obligation for the sibling to use the inheritance for the disabled family member and unexpected circumstances, including the sibling’s death, could also disrupt the arrangement.

The third mistake is overlooking beneficiary designations.

Even when a family establishes a properly established estate plan they may overlook the difference between probate assets (assets controlled by the terms of their Will) and non-probate assets  (assets that pass by joint ownership or beneficiary designation) including life insurance policies, retirement accounts, and other investments.

If the Client’s beneficiary designations do not properly designate the trust as the beneficiary the intended protection could be lost.

“Step one is to make sure that your documents are properly drafted,” Attorney Capita said. “But step two is to make sure that all of your assets, whether they’re probate or non-probate, are properly directed to that trust.”

Taking the first step

For families who have never considered special needs planning, Attorney Capita recommends beginning with a consultation with an estate planning attorney familiar with this area of law.

The process typically includes reviewing family assets, identifying which accounts require updated beneficiary designations, and discussing long-term goals.

Attorney Capita offers complimentary consultations and encourages families not to feel intimidated by the process.

“The hardest part is just making the initial call,” she said. “Once that’s been started and you talk through what’s needed, you’ll see that it’s not as daunting as you may have thought.”

For caregivers, planning ahead is not simply about distributing an inheritance. It is about ensuring that someone they love can continue receiving care, support, and opportunities for a fulfilling life—even when circumstances change.