Special Needs Planning

Special Needs Attorney in Beaverton

Complete Special Needs Planning for Beaverton Families

When a family member has a physical, developmental, or cognitive disability, protecting their future means more than drafting a single document. Special needs planning is the process of building a coordinated legal and financial framework that supports your loved one and helps preserve their access to government benefits over their lifetime. At Sunstone Planning LLC, we guide Beaverton and Washington County families through the entire process, from strategy through implementation, to help reduce the risk that something is overlooked.

We’re licensed in both Oregon and Washington, serving families on both sides of the Columbia River. Free consultations are available, including virtual appointments, and we offer flat-fee pricing so you know the full cost before work begins.

Ready to start a conversation? Call our Beaverton special needs planning team at (503) 300-2593 to schedule your free consultation.

Why Beaverton Families Work with Sunstone Planning LLC

Principal Attorney Kaitlyn Metscher brings over 10 years of estate planning experience to every client engagement. She began her career as a legal assistant, advanced to estate planning paralegal, and now practices as an estate planning attorney. That full-career perspective means she understands not just how documents are drafted, but how they can function in practice for real families.

Sunstone Planning LLC concentrates on estate planning and business formation. We don’t handle unrelated practice areas, which means our focus stays exactly where your family needs it. We take time to understand your loved one’s diagnosis, your long-term care expectations, and your family’s goals before we recommend any particular approach. The plan we build reflects your situation, not a template.

Our Planning Process

We follow a transparent, structured process designed to keep families informed at every step. After your initial clarity meeting, we identify the scope of your plan and present a flat-rate quote along with one to three planning options. Nothing moves forward until you understand the full picture and the full cost.

What the process covers:

Clarity meeting: We learn about your family, your loved one’s needs, and your planning goals
Strategy session: We map out the legal instruments your plan requires and explain each one in plain language
Document preparation and signing: We draft and finalize every document your plan calls for
Implementation support: We guide you through funding the trust, updating beneficiary designations, and coordinating with financial advisors

A plan that sits in a drawer unfunded doesn’t help anyone. That’s why we include guidance on properly naming the trust as a beneficiary on life insurance and retirement accounts, and we can host a family meeting to walk caregivers and future trustees through how the plan works.

Start Your Family’s Special Needs Plan Today

A free initial consultation gives you a clear picture of what your family’s plan needs and what it will cost. Sunstone Planning LLC serves families throughout Beaverton and across the Columbia River into Washington, with virtual appointments available for your convenience.

Call us at (503) 300-2593 or request your free consultation online. Flat-fee pricing means no billing surprises, and no commitment is required to have that first conversation.

Oregon Special Needs Planning: What Beaverton Families Should Know

Oregon’s rules for public benefits and trust planning have several features that make getting the plan right from the start especially important.

Oregon Health Plan and SSI Are Separate
SSI approval does not automatically confer Oregon Medicaid (Oregon Health Plan) eligibility. Oregon makes its own Medicaid eligibility determinations and requires a separate OHP application. The two programs also have distinct rules that affect how trust distributions must be managed.

No Decanting Statute
Oregon has no decanting statute, meaning trust terms generally can’t be modified by moving assets into a new trust. Court approval is typically required to change an irrevocable trust’s terms, which makes precise drafting at the outset far more important than in states with more flexible amendment procedures.

Medicaid Estate Recovery
Under ORS 416.350, Oregon’s Medicaid estate recovery program can reach joint tenancy property, living trusts, and life estates. Assets inside a properly structured irrevocable third-party special needs trust may be protected from this recovery, which is one reason the trust vehicle matters so much.

Supported Decision-Making Under HB 2105
Oregon’s supported decision-making law, effective January 1, 2022, gives individuals with disabilities an alternative to formal guardianship. A supported decision-making agreement allows named supporters to assist with decisions while the individual retains their legal rights. For some families, this may be a better fit than guardianship.

Oregon ABLE Accounts
Oregon eliminated Medicaid recovery from ABLE accounts in 2017 (SB 1027), making Oregon ABLE accounts a useful complement to a special needs trust for supplemental savings. The ABLE Age Adjustment Act, taking effect in 2026, raises the disability onset age for ABLE eligibility from 26 to 46, expanding access for many Oregon families who weren’t previously eligible.

Recent SSI Rule Change
As of September 30, 2024, the Social Security Administration eliminated food from in-kind support and maintenance calculations. A trust can now pay for groceries without reducing an SSI recipient’s monthly benefit, which changes how trustees may think about certain distributions.

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Our Clients Experince With Us

At Sunstone Planning LLC, your satisfaction is our priority! See for yourself what our clients have to say about working with us.

“Thank you so much, Sunstone Planning!”
“I would recommend them without hesitation to anyone looking for advice with their estate planning.”

- Todd H.
“Kaitlyn is an absolute pro!”
“You need someone knowledgeable, capable, and thorough who remains calm and keeps it simple.”

- Brady W.
“The attorney really impressed me.”
“It was just such a night-and-day difference.”

- Peter B.
“Kaitlyn is skilled, professional, and easy to work with.”
“I am happy working with her and confident referring her. Highly recommend.”

- Eleni G.
“We can recommend Sunstone with no reservations.”
“Sunstone was very professional and an immense help in setting up our trust.”

- Diane S.
“I would confidently recommend reaching out to Sunstone Planning.”
“I’m consistently impressed by the professionalism and expertise she brings to her work.”

- Brian W.
“A trustworthy choice who brings total peace of mind.”
“Excellent, timely communication, thorough explanations of the process, would recommend to anyone.”

- Grace M.
“Hands down the best money I have spent.”
“Kaitlyn really took the time to understand my objectives, a bit complicated, and she put my future plans in place.”

- Amy S.

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What a Complete Special Needs Plan Includes

A special needs trust is the centerpiece of most plans, but it’s one component of a larger framework. A trust that isn’t properly funded, or that exists alongside a will or beneficiary designations pointing assets directly to your loved one, can put benefits at risk when it matters most.

A comprehensive plan typically coordinates several instruments working together:

Special needs trust: The receiving vehicle for assets, structured to help preserve SSI and Medicaid eligibility
Pour-over will: Directs remaining estate assets into the trust at the parent’s or guardian’s death
Updated beneficiary designations: Life insurance policies and retirement accounts should name the trust, not the individual
Powers of attorney: Covering parents and guardians for their own incapacity planning
Letter of intent: A non-legal document guiding future trustees and caregivers on the beneficiary’s preferences, routines, and quality-of-life goals

Trustee selection is a planning decision families often underestimate. The trustee must understand the strict spending guidelines that govern trust distributions to avoid inadvertently affecting the beneficiary’s benefits. We help families think through who should serve and prepare that person to fulfill the role responsibly.

Third-Party vs. First-Party Trusts

Third-party special needs trusts, funded with family assets, carry no Medicaid payback requirement in Oregon; remaining assets pass to named beneficiaries at the beneficiary’s death. First-party trusts, funded with the beneficiary’s own assets such as a personal injury settlement, may require court approval in Oregon under ORS 125 when the beneficiary lacks capacity to establish the trust independently.

Our dual Oregon and Washington licensure means families with assets or caregivers on both sides of the Columbia River don’t need to coordinate two separate attorneys to cover both states.

What Happens When a Loved One Receives Assets Directly

A direct inheritance, life insurance payout, or cash gift to a person receiving SSI or Medicaid can disqualify them from those benefits if the amount exceeds the program’s resource limits. For SSI, that limit is $2,000 in countable assets. A modest inheritance can trigger an immediate loss of monthly income and health care coverage.

A properly structured special needs trust holds assets for the beneficiary without those assets counting as the beneficiary’s own resources under SSI and Medicaid eligibility rules. The trust can then pay for things government programs don’t cover: specialized therapy, dental work, transportation, education, recreation, and adaptive equipment. This approach can allow the inheritance to supplement rather than replace public benefits.

Beneficiary designations are where many well-meaning families create unintended problems. Naming a person with a disability directly on a life insurance policy or IRA can trigger a benefits loss the family never anticipated. The designation should name the special needs trust instead.

Oregon’s Medicaid estate recovery program (ORS 416.350) adds another layer of risk for assets passed outside a trust. Joint tenancy property, living trusts, and life estates can all be subject to recovery. Assets inside a properly structured irrevocable third-party special needs trust may be protected, which is one reason the structure of the plan matters as much as the intent behind it.

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Focused Estate Planning Experience for Special Needs Families

Attorney Kaitlyn Metscher has spent over a decade working exclusively within estate planning. Her path from legal assistant to paralegal to attorney gives her a working understanding of how plans function at every stage, not just how they read on paper. That background is particularly valuable for special needs families, whose plans involve more moving parts than a standard estate plan.

Sunstone Planning LLC concentrates on estate planning and business formation. Our practice doesn’t stretch across unrelated legal matters, which means when a Beaverton family comes to us with a special needs planning question, they’re working with attorneys whose full attention is on this kind of work. Flat-fee pricing is offered whenever possible, and free consultations are available by phone, in person, or virtually. We’re licensed in both Oregon and Washington, so families in Beaverton and across the Columbia River can work with one firm for a coordinated plan.

Frequently Asked Questions

What Is the Difference Between Special Needs Planning and Creating a Special Needs Trust?

Special needs planning is the broader process of coordinating all the legal and financial instruments that support a person with a disability over their lifetime. A trust is one tool within that plan. Others include wills, beneficiary designations, life insurance funding strategies, trustee preparation, and sometimes guardianship or supported decision-making arrangements. Planning addresses how all of those pieces work together.

When Should We Start?

Before it’s needed. A trust not yet in place when a parent dies or a grandparent makes a gift can’t protect benefits retroactively. Beneficiary designations and estate documents should point to the trust before any transfer occurs. The earlier the plan is in place, the more options your family may have.

Can a Special Needs Trust Affect SSI or Medicaid Benefits?

A properly structured special needs trust is designed to help preserve SSI and Medicaid eligibility. Because the beneficiary doesn’t own or control the trust assets, those assets don’t count against benefit program resource limits. Certain distributions, such as payments for housing costs, can still affect SSI amounts. An attorney familiar with current SSA rules can guide trustees on which distributions are permissible.

Does Sunstone Planning LLC Handle Planning for Families in Washington State?

Yes. We’re licensed in both Oregon and Washington, serving families on both sides of the Columbia River from our Beaverton practice.

What Does a Free Consultation Cover?

The initial consultation is a clarity meeting where your family describes your situation and goals, and we ask questions to understand the scope of the plan you need. Afterward, you receive a flat-rate quote and options for moving forward. There’s no obligation to continue.

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Our FAQ

Have questions? We are here to help. Still have questions or can't find the answer you need? Give us a call at 503-300-2593 today!

Where do you serve business owners?

We serve business owners in Beaverton, Washington County, throughout Oregon, and in Vancouver, Washington.
Can you help with existing businesses?

Yes. We assist clients who are restructuring, formalizing, or reviewing existing business entities.
Can business formation affect my personal estate plan?

Yes. Business ownership can significantly impact estate planning, succession, and asset protection. We help align both areas.

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