Has Your Estate Plan Kept Up With Your Life?
In our daily lives, regular checkups are (or should be) routine. Whether it is a visit to the doctor or dentist, an oil change on your car, or service on your furnace, we all gain peace of mind when things seem to be “in working order.” But what about your estate plan? When was the…
Choosing a Nursing Home: Practical Advice for a Difficult and Important Decision
The selection of a nursing home is a crucial step in dealing with illness and disability. The decision to move to a nursing home is not one that should be taken lightly. Options may exist. Other, less restrictive alternatives such as providing private care in one’s home, modification to the home, assisted living facilities and…
Personal Injury Settlements: Planning Considerations for Persons with Disabilities
Personal injury claims for malpractice and work place injuries often result in monetary awards or settlements that jeopardize an individual’s eligibility for government benefits. Whether the award or settlement is paid to the individual in the form of a lump sum, a structured settlement, or a combination of the two, the proceeds are expected to…
Special Needs Trust Expenditures Can Include, But Are Not Limited To:
CAUTION: Do not distribute funds directly to the beneficiary. The above goods and services must be paid directly from the trust to the vendor or service provider. Distributions from a first-party special needs trust must be for the sole benefit of the beneficiary.
Special Needs Planning for Extended Family Members
Estate planning for families who have a son or daughter with special needs not only includes creating the appropriate legal instruments for the nuclear family – it extends to other family members such as grandparents, aunts, uncles, brothers and sisters. One of the primary goals in special needs planning is to direct family assets into…
Special Needs Planning and Life Insurance
Funding a special needs trust in an amount sufficient to purchase supplemental goods and services, advocacy, and other important benefits is a basic objective in special needs planning. Since most special needs trusts created by parents for their son or daughter are funded upon the death of one or both parents, it is an obvious…
Preparing a Life-Planning Document for Your Disabled Family Member
A “life-planning document” for your disabled family member does more than preserve and protect his or her safety and security. It is also to help him or her enjoy a better quality of life. Producing a life-planning document for your disabled family member is not a legal imperative. It is, rather, a moral one. Preparing…
OBRA `93 Changes in Medicaid Transfer of Asset Rules
Medicaid is the government program that pays for, among other things, long-term care for the elderly and the disabled. For millions of people who are disabled and poor, Medicaid pays for acute health care, dental care, respite services, rehabilitation therapies, assistive technology devices and other community-based services and supports. OBRA ‘93, which President Bill Clinton…
Creating a Real Home for a Family Member with a Disability: Top Ten Tips
Following are some important items to take into consideration when creating residential supports for family members with a disability 1. FUTURE OF GOVERNMENT RESOURCES There is no dispute that the current economic conditions facing the nation, the states and our local communities will continue. It is estimated that 45 states are expecting budget shortfalls in…