Protective Planning: Safeguard What
Matters Most

Estate planning isn’t just about transferring wealth – it’s about protecting the people you love and the assets you’ve worked hard to build. At Cookman Law, we offer Protective Planning services that go beyond the basics to shield your beneficiaries, preserve public benefits, and create lasting security for future generations. Whether you’re caring for a loved one with a disability, concerned about divorce or creditors, or want to leave a thoughtful legacy that extends beyond your lifetime, we’re here to help you build a plan that protects.

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What Is Protective Planning?

Protective Planning is a proactive approach to estate planning that focuses on:

  • Preserving public benefits for loved ones with disabilities
  • Shielding inheritances from divorce, lawsuits, or poor financial decisions
  • Providing long-term support through trusts that last for decades
  • Ensuring privacy and flexibility without court involvement

This kind of planning often includes the use of specialized trusts, careful beneficiary designations, and thoughtful distribution strategies, all customized to your family’s needs and values.

  • A child in a wheelchair playing with her mother.
  • 3 generations of women playing on the grass.
  • A blended family posing on the couch for a family picture.
  • Volunteers for a charity loading boxes into a vehicle.

Who Can Benefit from Protective Planning?

Protective Planning is ideal for families who want more than simple documents. It’s a great fit if you:

  • Have a child or family member with a disability or who receives public benefits
  • Want to protect your child’s inheritance from a future divorce
  • Have concerns about creditors, addiction, or poor money management
  • Are in a blended family and want to make sure your children are protected
  • Want to leave assets in trust for future generations
  • Are thinking about long-term legacy or philanthropic planning

Our Protective Planning Tools

Special Needs Trusts (SNTs)

We create both Third-Party and First-Party Special Needs Trusts to protect eligibility for SSI, Medi-Cal, and other needs-based benefits. These trusts allow funds to be used for a beneficiary’s supplemental needs without jeopardizing critical services.

Staggered and Discretionary Distributions

Not every beneficiary is ready to receive a lump sum at age 18 (or even at 35). We can design your trust to distribute assets over time, under specific conditions, or with oversight by a trusted person or professional.

Lifetime/Dynasty Trusts

Also called Generation-Skipping Trusts, these trusts can stretch across multiple generations while protecting against divorce, lawsuits, and estate taxes. We often recommend these trusts for adult children or grandchildren who may need long-term support and structure.

Creditor and Divorce Protection

With careful drafting, we can create trusts that keep assets out of reach from a beneficiary’s spouse or creditors, while still allowing them to benefit from the trust over time.

What Makes Our Approach Different

We don’t believe in one-size-fits-all plans. Protective Planning is personal, and we take the time to:

  • Understand your goals, your family dynamics, and your concerns
  • Educate you about your options in plain English
  • Design a plan that’s legally sound and emotionally smart
  • Coordinate with your financial advisor or CPA if needed

Our goal is to create a plan that provides peace of mind – not just now, but for decades to come.

Start Planning Before There’s a Problem

Protective planning isn’t just for the wealthy or the worried; it’s for families who want to take care of each other, thoughtfully and intentionally.

If you’re ready to protect what matters most – your loved ones, your legacy, and the future – we’re here to help.

schedule a consult with cookman law today