How do you leave money to a child with a disability in a will?
Carefully, and usually not outright. In Ontario, a direct inheritance can count as your child’s asset and put ODSP at risk. Most disability aware wills leave that child’s share to a Henson trust, managed by a chosen trustee, so the money can improve quality of life while benefits stay protected. An estate lawyer should draft it.
Every parent writing a will for a child with a disability carries the same quiet fear: that the gift meant to protect their child could be the thing that hurts them. In Ontario, that fear has a factual basis, and it also has a well worn solution. This page walks the choices, from the outright gift to the Henson trust, in the order a family actually meets them.
Please read this first: this page is general information about how Ontario rules work, not legal advice. Trusts and wills are legal documents with lasting consequences. Use what you learn here to have a better conversation with an estate lawyer, not to replace one.
Option one: the outright gift, and its catch
The simplest will leaves each child their share directly. For a child who receives ODSP, direct ownership is the problem. The inheritance becomes their asset, measured against ODSP’s asset rules, and a significant gift can suspend support until the money is spent down. The family’s lifetime of saving ends up replacing the province’s support instead of adding to their child’s life. It is the most loving mistake in Ontario estate planning, and it is made constantly.
Small gifts are a different conversation, and families should not let this page frighten them out of ordinary generosity. The catch scales with the amount and the child’s circumstances. What deserves professional drafting is the estate sized gift, the house proceeds, the insurance payout, the share that represents a parent’s whole working life.
Option two: the Henson trust
The standard Ontario answer is to leave the share to a Henson trust instead. The trust is fully discretionary: a trustee manages the money and decides on payments, and your child cannot compel the trustee or treat the trust as their own account. Because of that structure, assets inside a properly drafted Henson trust are generally exempt when ODSP eligibility is calculated, so the inheritance waits safely until the trustee chooses to use it for your child’s benefit.
Payments out of the trust are treated on their own terms under ODSP rules, so trustees should get advice before large payments. Handled thoughtfully, trust money funds the things benefits never covered: better housing choices, travel to family, equipment, experiences, and breathing room. My pillar guide on Henson trusts explains the structure and its court case origins in full.
The trustee decision hiding inside the will
A Henson trust is only as good as its trustee. This is the person who will be making discretionary decisions, possibly for decades, ideally someone who knows your child, understands the benefit rules or will learn them, and can say a kind no when a payment would do harm. Many families choose a sibling, a trusted friend, or a professional trustee, and naming a backup is as important as the first choice. People’s lives change. The trust should survive those changes.
Talk to your trustee while you can. Explain what the trust is for, what kinds of extras you hope it funds, and where the professional advice will come from. A trustee who has heard the plan from you directly is worth more than the finest drafted clause discovered cold. I cover the wider plan, the RDSP included, in estate planning for a child with a disability.
What about the RDSP the child already has?
Many children in this conversation already have an RDSP gathering grants and bonds, fully exempt for ODSP in Ontario. The will should not work against it. Parents think through who will act as the plan’s holder after them, and whether any estate money is meant to flow toward the plan within the rules that govern contributions and grant room. These are detail questions with real consequences, and they belong in the same lawyer conversation as the trust itself.
Finally, the rules for inheritances themselves deserve their own careful read, including what happens in the months right after a parent dies. My guide to ODSP inheritance rules covers that window. Read it before the will is signed, not after. Paper signed early protects everyone, quietly, for decades.
Common questions
Will an inheritance cut off my child’s ODSP?
It can, if it is received directly and pushes your child over ODSP’s asset rules. That risk is exactly why Ontario wills for disabled children usually route the inheritance through a Henson trust instead.
What is the difference between a regular trust and a Henson trust?
A Henson trust is fully discretionary: the beneficiary cannot demand payments or treat the assets as their own. That discretion is what generally keeps the trust’s assets exempt for ODSP purposes.
Can my other children receive their shares outright?
Yes. It is common for each child’s share to be structured differently, outright for some and in trust for the child with a disability, because the goal is equal care, not identical paperwork.
Who should draft this kind of will?
An estate lawyer, ideally one with disability planning experience, working from your child’s actual benefits and your family’s assets. This page is information only, not legal advice.
This guide sits inside the Henson trust pillar guide, where trusts, wills, and benefit protection come together.
Sources: Disability Tax Credit, Canada Revenue Agency.
See where you stand: the free RDSP readiness checker takes about a minute and shows whether an RDSP belongs in your plan and what the government could add. No signup, and no pressure.
A quick note: this post is educational, not financial advice. For guidance on your own situation, book a free conversation. You don't have to figure this out alone. I'm here to help you through every step.