Category Archives: Special Needs Planning
Taxes and Special Needs Trusts
Families who care for a loved one with special needs or a disability will often create and fund a special needs trust. It can provide peace of mind to improve a family member’s future quality of life without jeopardizing their eligibility for government benefits. However, families must also consider the tax implications of special… Read More »
Legal Options for People with Special Needs (and the Families Who Support Them)
The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) provides support and empowerment to people with special needs and disabilities. More options for individuals and families who support them to live as independently as possible are available. Multiple options are available to create and amend legal frameworks to best serve persons with special needs. Requirements continue to… Read More »
A Comparison of Special Needs Trusts and ABLE Accounts
A special needs trust (SNT) and an Achieving a Better Life Experience account (ABLE) provide a tax-free way to save money for people with disabilities. Both options provide a mechanism for saving money and protecting resources that ensures the person with a disability (PWD) continues their eligibility for public benefits programs. Accumulating resources for… Read More »
Choosing a Special Needs Trustee
When creating a special needs trust (SNT) for a loved one with a disability, the grantor (the individual creating and funding the trust) typically becomes the trustee. However, it is crucial to choose a successor trustee who will continue properly managing the SNT to benefit the special needs individual. When selecting a reliable, honest,… Read More »
Funding Options for Special Needs Trusts
It is crucial to properly fund special needs trusts (SNT’s), designating your trust as the owner of certain assets. The trustee can then distribute these assets to benefit your disabled loved one. Before funding can happen, you must choose the type of trust that best suits the situation for your love one with special… Read More »
The Basics of Guardianships (Part 2)
If you haven’t already read The Basics of Guardianships (Part 1), click here to do so. Once you understand how guardianships are intended to help a special needs adult, you must understand the key responsibilities a guardian plays within their legal role. Guardian duties vary depending on the protected person’s limitations and abilities. However,… Read More »
Special Needs Planning: Enabling the Disabled
In honor of October as Special Needs Awareness Month, let’s take a look at special needs planning, which helps disabled people to live their best lives. Family money can be carefully managed to fit the disability-benefit rules and still provide additional perks for the disabled person to enjoy. And, though the rules can be… Read More »
Estate Planning Tips for Parents of a Special Needs Child
Children with a wide variety of special needs (disabilities) can live more productive lives than ever before with today’s medicine and health care advancements. Many scientists regard the term “special needs” as a euphemism for disability. Yet, the difference between the two terms is primarily one of acceptance and preference as both terms describe the… Read More »
March is Brain Injury Awareness Month
As it has for thirty years, early March marks the beginning of Brain Injury Awareness Month. Brain injury, often referred to as traumatic brain injury (TBI), can range from mild (commonly called a concussion) to severe and is caused by an impact to the head or the body or by a penetrating head injury…. Read More »
March is Developmental Disability Awareness Month
In March of 1987, the Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month began, calling upon all Americans to provide the opportunities and encouragement necessary for people with developmental disabilities to reach their potential. Since then, the National Association of Councils on Developmental Disabilities (NACDD) holds a campaign each March to communicate the importance of inclusion and story… Read More »
