AISH - Henson Trust Lawyer
Neufeld Legal P.C. can be reached by telephone at 403-400-4092 or email Chris@NeufeldLegal.com
Alberta's Assured Income for the Severely Handicapped (AISH) program is critical to the support and well-being of eligible adult Albertans with a permanent medical condition that prevents them from earning a living, as it provides important financial and health benefits to those individuals. Those individuals eligible for AISH may receive:
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a monthly living allowance – money to pay for your living costs such as food, rent and utilities
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a monthly child benefit – money to assist you with raising your dependent child(ren)
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health benefits – assistance to cover health needs for you, your spouse or partner and your dependent child(ren)
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personal benefits – money over and above your monthly living allowance for specific needs such as a special diet or assistance in an emergency.
With such an important support program as AISH, a key concern for a parent (or grandparent) with a disabled child (or grandchild), is to avoid disqualification from AISH (or any other benefit or support program) through the improper transference of one's inheritence (a portion thereof) to that pariticular disabled beneficiary. As such, it is important for those parents and grandparents to properly consider the estate planning strategies and legal instruments that would enable those individuals to continue receiving much needed benefits and support for the remainder of their life, while not exceeding the financial thresholds (income and assets) established by the relevant programs for continuing to receive these all important benefits (e.g., AISH financial thresholds - income and assets).
One of the more prominent estate planning strategies when there are disabled children or grandchildren is the Henson Trust, which is utilized to provide financially for a person with an ongoing physical or mental disability, whether during your lifetime or after your death, given the planning considerations that must be taken to ensure that the person’s entitlement to Alberta disability related income support and other benefits are not inadvertently jeopardized. Alberta's disability related income support programs and benefits are income and asset tested, meaning that individuals cannot own certain assets or earn or receive income in excess of specified amounts. If these income and asset thresholds are exceeded, the person may be disqualified or ineligible to receive income support and other benefits until the excess assets are depleted, hence the need for appropriate legal planning arrangements, such as a Henson Trust.
A Henson Trust is a trust (most frequently forming part of a parent's or grandparent's Will) that provides the trustees with the absolute discretion to distribute income and capital from the trust to the beneficiary as they see fit. The trustees have full control as to when, if and how much income or capital is to be paid to the beneficiary. The beneficiary of a Henson Trust has no vested interest in the income or capital of the trust. This means that they cannot claim or demand payments from the trust and, consequently, they are not considered to own the trust assets. Henson Trusts are subject to provincial legislation and regulations.
A Henson Trust can be set up as an inter vivos trust (established during your lifetime) or as a testamentary trust (established on death under the terms of your Will). A Henson Trust must be planned in advance as it cannot be settled by the beneficiary. There is no limit on the amount of assets that can be settled into or contributed to a Henson Trust. There may, however, be limits with regards to the distributions that can be made from a Henson Trust to the disabled beneficiary without affecting the beneficiary’s eligibility for income support and benefits. The usefulness of a Henson Trust may therefore be limited by provincial regulations which restrict the distributions that a beneficiary can receive from a Henson Trust without impacting the beneficiary’s income support .
Contact our law firm today to learn how our legal team can help you plan for the future or deal with the legal demands associated with the passing of a loved one. Contact our law firm at 403-400-4092 or via email at Chris@NeufeldLegal.com to schedule a confidential initial consultation.
IMPORTANT NOTE: This website is designed for general informational purposes. The site is not designed to answer specific questions about your individual situation or entitlement. Do not rely upon the information provided on this website as legal advice in respect of your individual situation nor use it as substitute for individual legal advice. If you want specific legal advice, you need to engage a lawyer under established legal engagement procedures that have been specifically agreed to by that lawyer.