Contact Us

Greater Philadelphia Area

Special Needs
Planning For Life

We craft legal documents customized to your loved one’s unique needs, ensuring they are flexible and grow with them as they age.

Trusts

Guardianships

Estate Plans

Disability Benefits

Schedule an In-Person or Virtual Consultation with
one of our Experienced Special Needs Planning Attorneys:

Or Contact Us By Phone: (610)254-0114 

For us, it's personal.

Our attorneys have close family members within the special needs community, and have personally navigated the financial, legal, and emotional challenges that bring caring for a loved one with disabilities.

Meet Steve Potts and Marilyn Mitchell, partners at Herr Potts and Potts.

We Offer Special Needs Planning for All Stages of Life

Planning for children with special needs is crucial for ensuring their lifelong well-being and stability. It encompasses providing for their physical, emotional, educational, and financial needs, particularly when the parents or primary caregivers are no longer able to do so. 

Financially, it involves setting up special needs trusts and securing government benefits to cover the significant costs of care without affecting public assistance eligibility.

Legally, it prepares for issues like guardianship and decision-making authority as these children transition into adulthood. This transition planning is essential for navigating changes such as moving from school to adult services, finding living arrangements, and employment opportunities, thus ensuring continuity of care. 

For families, having a comprehensive plan offers peace of mind, knowing their child’s future is secure and their wishes for the child’s care and quality of life are being followed.

CONTACT US ONLINE
CONTACT US BY PHONE

Early Childhood

  • Special Needs Trusts: Don’t wait and get this done! A special needs trust is a crucial tool for ensuring that babies with disabilities have the financial resources they need for their care and support, without jeopardizing their eligibility for vital government assistance programs. It offers a secure way to manage assets for the child’s benefit and provides peace of mind for families planning for the long-term care of their child with special needs.
  • Guardianship Considerations: Guardianship planning for a baby with disabilities involves careful consideration of who will take care of the child if the parents are unable to, legal appointment of this guardian, understanding the full scope of responsibilities involved, and ensuring financial security and continuity of care for the child.
  • Government Benefits and Services: This is a critical time to find advocates and services. Organizations paid by government benefits can provide services like early intervention, therapy, or family support, but it is essential to reach out right away to get them started.

Adolescents

 Transition planning for adolescents with special needs is a coordinated process that prepares them for life after high school. It’s designed to help them move smoothly into adulthood, whether that involves further education, employment, independent living, or other post-secondary opportunities.

Adulthood

  • Guardianships and Conservatorships: The distinction is important. In PA, when an individual turns 18, they are an emancipated adult with the right to make their own decisions. Guardianship is the term used in Pennsylvania, and it is something to consider. Discussing either Power of Attorney or Guardianship right before your child turns 18 is essential.

  • Estate Planning: While we recommend reviewing estate planning documents every 3-5 years, a major life change is when your child reaches adulthood. This may require changes to the trustees or guardians previously named, or adjusting the amount you will leave to your child’s special needs trust. Review all factors with your attorney to ensure your estate plan is current.  
     
  • Benefits and Advocacy: Ensuring continuous eligibility for government benefits is vital to your child’s future. You’ll feel relief after aligning your estate plan with the chosen advocate (via guardianship or power of attorney) to set your child’s future on the right path.

What To Expect When Partnering with Herr Potts and Potts for Special Needs Planning

Our many years of professional and personal experience have taught us that persons with disabilities and their families face a range of challenges that can often go beyond just that one document.

We also realize that situations can be fluid, and we are able to help you plan for that, too! A child who faces major challenges today can grow up to be a fully independent adult. We are experienced in crafting flexible documents that can grow and change with your loved one.

Our attorneys work with you to construct an estate plan to ensure that assets will be received and used for the disabled person as intended without jeopardizing governmental benefits. In addition, we are available to consult on a vast array of situations that face persons with disabilities and their families over a lifetime.

Recent Representations

Established a Third Party Special Needs Trust for a couple and allowed grandparent to include the trust in her Will to ensure that the disabled individual would not receive any direct inheritance that would affect government benefits.

Drafted a Payback Trust to ensure disabled individual would continue to be eligible for government benefits despite receiving a large sum from a trust.

Helped client establish an ABLE account so she could continue to work and save money while continuing to receive government benefits.

Helped clients argue for continued medical assistance for their son when the local county assistance office terminated eligibility.

Drafted Powers of Attorney for disabled individual to sign so that his parents and then his brother would be able to help him make decisions in the future.

Represented client to obtain guardianship of her sister to be able to sign off on her having surgery.

Successfully petitioned the Court to allow the sale of real estate owned by an incapacitated person and have the proceeds committed to a First Party Payback Trust to protect their benefits
Obtained a Court Order to return misappropriated funds to the Guardianship Estate of an incapacitated individual
Assisted a family in negotiating complex custodial issues for an incapacitated adult child of divorced parents 

Meet our Special Needs Planning Attorneys

Stephen D. Potts, Esq.

Steve is a partner at Herr, Potts and Potts and has been practicing in the realm of Special Needs Planning (Special Needs Trusts, Guardianship and goverment benefits) for over 20 years.

Steve is actively involved in the local special needs community and has given numerous lectures to groups concerning guardianships and the benefits of special needs trusts. He has served on the board of Bournelyf Special Camp, the Kencrest Services Board in Blue Bell, Montgomery County, and as president of the board of the ARC of Chester County.

Steve lives in West Chester, PA with his wife Julie and 3 children.

Click here to learn more about Steve Potts, Esq.

Marilyn S. Mitchell, Esq.

Marilyn is a partner at Herr, Potts and Potts and practices in Special Needs Planning/Guardianships.

Marilyn is actively involved in the local special needs community and serves on the Board of Directors of PLAN of PA and the PLAN of PA Foundation, as well as serving as a member of the Trust Advisory Committee for PLAN of PA, a non-profit serving the Special Needs Community.

Prior to joining Herr, Potts and Potts, Marilyn was a prosecutor at the Chester County District Attorney’s Office for 7 years, and she brings extensive litigation experience to the firm.

She lives in West Chester, Pennsylvania with her husband, Patrick and their son.

Click here to learn more about Marilyn Mitchell, Esq.

Meet our Special Needs Planning Attorneys

Steve and Marilyn Answer Some FAQs about Special Needs Planning at Herr Potts and Potts:

Steve and Marilyn Answer Some FAQs about Special Needs Planning at Herr Potts and Potts:

Questions? Ready to Get started with Special needs planning for your loved one? Contact us to set up your in-person or virtual initial Consultation:

Or Contact Us By Phone: (610)254-0114 

Disclaimer and Terms of Use

This website provides general information about Herr Potts and Potts. The information within this site is not, nor is it intended to be, legal advice. You should consult an attorney for individual advice regarding your own particular situation. Neither our presentation of the information on the site nor your receipt of the information creates a lawyer-client relationship or imposes any obligation on Herr Potts and Potts.

Prior results do not guarantee similar outcomes. Legal information on this site should not be considered as legal opinions or as a substitute for legal counsel. In general, we cannot guarantee that all information on the site will be applicable to your situation or that it is current, accurate or complete.​

Facebook-f Linkedin Envelope
Contact Information
  • 200 Eagle Road, Suite 106, Wayne, PA 19087
  • 138 W Gay Street, West Chester, PA 19380 (by appointment only)
  • (610) 254-0114
  • M-F 8:30am-5:00pm

© Herr Potts & Potts 2024