What is a Power of Attorney? A Power of Attorney is a powerful and important legal document delegating authority from one person to another. It allows the agent you’ve appointed to make financial decisions on your behalf. The person giving the authority is known as the principal, while the person to whom the authority is… Read More »
Posts Categorized: Special Needs
Reaching out to the Disability Community-An Important Government Resource
Recently, the federal government moved to the technological forefront with its launch of Disability.gov. This relaunched website fulfills its stated purpose of Connecting the Disability Community to Information and Opportunities. Disability.gov successfully uses social media tools to reach out to visitors and encourage interaction. There are online discussions and a user-friendly way to get answers… Read More »
Choosing a Trustee for Your Special Needs Trust: Part Three
In Part One and Part Two of Choosing a Trustee for Your Special Needs Trust, I described the numerous duties of a Special Needs trustee and the different factors that must be considered in choosing the trustee. In this final post, I offer some suggestions as to how to make that choice in order to… Read More »
Choosing a Trustee for Your Special Needs Trust: Part Two
In Part One of Choosing a Trustee for Your Special Needs Trust, I discussed all the different responsibilities and jobs a trustee must fulfill to properly administer the trust. It is also important to really assess both the current and potential future needs of your child. Considerations to Use in Choosing a Trustee There are… Read More »
Choosing a Trustee for Your Special Needs Trust: Part One
Choosing a trustee to manage your child’s Special or Supplemental Needs Trust is one of the most difficult decisions you will have to make. That decision alone often stops parents from taking the next step of setting up an appointment with an attorney who has expertise with drafting Special Needs Trusts. After all, how can… Read More »
Disabled Students Paddled More Often in School
According to a study just released, disabled students are subjected to corporal punishment at a far higher rate than other students. The American Civil Liberties Union and Human Rights Watch collaborated on the report entitled “Impairing Education: Corporal Punishment of Students with Disabilities in US Public Schools.” According to the report, at least 41,972 disabled… Read More »
Is Funding a Special Needs Trust a Guessing Game?
How do parents of children with special needs, whether that child is 5 or 35, predict just how much money their disabled child will need for their future comfort? There are many variables to consider, including: life expectancy; the rate of inflation; investment return; the amount of benefits the government will provide decades from now… Read More »
How Life Insurance Can Help Your Special Needs Child
Many parents are concerned about how they can fund a supplemental needs trust, especially in these rough economic times. Parents are also concerned about how their other children will feel if they divide their estate assets unevenly, providing more for their siblings with disabilities. These siblings might have even more resentment if they end up… Read More »
Types of Special/Supplemental Needs Trusts (SNTs)
The terms “special” and “supplemental” are often used interchangeably. Frequently, “special” refers to a first party, or self-settled trust, while “supplemental” refers to a trust settled by a third party which supplements basic food and shelter. Other sources define “special” as one in which the trustee has limited discretion to make distributions, whereas “supplemental” is… Read More »
When Family Wants to Help Your Child with Special Needs
Very often a family member such as a grandparent, aunt or uncle or even a sibling would like to give the disabled individual a cash gift or other assets. Although the services available through government benefits are substantial, the actual cash benefits are not. Outright gifts might cause the disabled person’s assets to increase above… Read More »