When is a self funded or first party special needs trust used?

Typically, these trusts are used when a person comes into some money, like from a personal injury settlement or insurance proceeds, but the person is on a needs (income) based program and doesn’t want to lose the benefits. These are typically used so a person on Medicaid and/or Social Security Income (SSI) can keep their benefits and yet have their personal needs supplemented. The key clause in these trusts is that when the beneficiary passes away, any remaining funds will be repaid to the governmental program, up the amounts paid by the program.