Georgia Special Needs Trust: Rules, Costs, and How to Set One Up

Why Georgia Families Need to Know About Special Needs Trusts

An individual on SSI in Georgia can have no more than $2,000 in countable resources under SSI rules. A Georgia STABLE account exempts up to $100,000 from that limit, but inheritances, lawsuit settlements, and large gifts can easily exceed that threshold. Without a proper legal structure, receiving a $50,000 inheritance could terminate your adult child's SSI and Medicaid in a single month.

A special needs trust solves this problem by holding assets on behalf of the individual with a disability without those assets counting against the SSI resource limit. The trust has no balance cap that triggers an SSI suspension, and it can receive unlimited contributions from any source.

First-Party vs. Third-Party Trusts

Georgia recognizes two main types of special needs trusts, and the distinction matters for Medicaid payback requirements.

A first-party special needs trust (also called a d(4)(A) trust) holds assets that belong to the individual with the disability — typically a personal injury settlement, back-pay from a benefits award, or an inheritance received directly. Federal law requires that any balance remaining when the beneficiary dies must first repay Medicaid for services it provided during the individual's lifetime. In Georgia, the trust must be established by a parent, grandparent, legal guardian, or a court. The beneficiary must be under age 65 when the trust is created and must meet the SSA's definition of disability.

A third-party special needs trust holds assets contributed by someone other than the beneficiary — parents, grandparents, or other family members who want to leave money for a loved one with a disability without jeopardizing their benefits. Because the money was never the beneficiary's own asset, there is no Medicaid payback requirement when the beneficiary passes away. The remaining funds pass to whoever the trust document names as remainder beneficiaries.

For most Georgia families planning ahead for an adult child with I/DD, a third-party trust is the right starting point. It allows parents to direct inheritance and life insurance proceeds into the trust through their own estate plan.

Pooled Special Needs Trusts in Georgia

A pooled trust is a third option, managed by a nonprofit organization rather than an individual trustee. The nonprofit pools investments from multiple beneficiaries for better returns while maintaining separate sub-accounts for each person.

The Arc of Georgia operates a pooled trust program that Georgia families can use. Pooled trusts have lower setup costs than individual trusts because the nonprofit handles administration, and they accept smaller initial deposits — often useful for families who need a trust structure but don't have enough assets to justify the $2,000–$5,000 cost of creating a standalone trust.

The catch: if the beneficiary contributed their own assets (making it function like a first-party trust), any remaining funds after the beneficiary's death must either stay in the pooled trust for other beneficiaries or reimburse Medicaid. If only third-party funds were contributed, no Medicaid payback applies.

What a Special Needs Trust Can and Cannot Pay For

A properly drafted special needs trust in Georgia can pay for many expenses that enhance the beneficiary's quality of life. To avoid making a cash payment count as income, the trustee generally pays the vendor or service provider rather than distributing cash directly to the beneficiary.

Appropriate disbursements include medical equipment not covered by Medicaid, dental and vision care, therapy and rehabilitation services, personal care attendants, recreation and vacations, adaptive technology, furniture, transportation (including a vehicle), education and vocational training, and housing-related costs.

The trust cannot give cash directly to the beneficiary without it being counted as unearned income by SSA. Shelter payments from a trust may reduce the SSI payment under the in-kind support and maintenance rules; food is no longer included in those calculations. A shelter-related reduction is capped at one-third of the federal benefit rate plus $20.

What It Costs to Set Up a Georgia Special Needs Trust

Attorney fees for drafting a standalone special needs trust in Georgia typically range from $2,000 to $5,000, depending on the complexity of the family's situation and whether estate planning documents need to be created or updated alongside the trust.

Ongoing trustee fees vary. A professional corporate trustee generally charges 1% to 1.5% of the trust's assets annually. A family member serving as trustee avoids this fee but takes on the legal responsibility of managing distributions properly and filing annual tax returns.

For families with smaller amounts to protect — under $50,000 — a pooled trust through The Arc or a similar Georgia nonprofit is often more cost-effective than establishing a standalone trust.

Special Needs Trust vs. Georgia STABLE Account

These two tools serve different purposes and work best together.

A Georgia STABLE account is self-service, takes 15 minutes to open online with a $25 minimum deposit, and gives the account holder direct control via a debit card. The annual contribution limit is $20,000 ($35,650 for employed account holders who qualify for ABLE-to-Work and do not have contributions to an employer-sponsored retirement plan), and balances above $100,000 suspend SSI cash payments.

A special needs trust requires an attorney to draft, needs a named trustee, has ongoing administrative obligations, and the beneficiary generally does not control the funds directly — they request disbursements from the trustee. But there is no contribution limit and no balance cap that affects SSI.

The practical approach many Georgia families take: use the STABLE account for day-to-day savings and work earnings, and use the special needs trust for large assets — an inheritance, a settlement, or life insurance proceeds — that would overwhelm the STABLE account's limits.

When to Set Up a Trust

The best time to establish a third-party special needs trust is before you need it — ideally as part of the parents' broader estate plan. If a parent dies without a trust in place and their will leaves assets directly to their child with a disability, those assets become the child's countable resources immediately, potentially disqualifying them from SSI and Medicaid.

A first-party trust should be established as soon as the individual with a disability is about to receive assets directly — such as a settlement, a retroactive benefits payment, or an inheritance from someone who did not have a third-party trust in place.

For a step-by-step walkthrough of how special needs trusts fit alongside STABLE accounts, SSI redetermination, and Medicaid protection in Georgia's transition process, the Georgia SSI at 18 & Adult Disability Benefits Guide covers the full financial planning framework.

See more Georgia guides →