Resources
Achieving a Better Life Experience (ABLE) Act Summary & Review
Eight years after first being proposed, The Achieving a Better Life Experience (ABLE) Act finally was approved on December 19, 2014. Individuals and families with special needs now have a powerful new tax-free savings tool to help support individuals with disabilities. The act is designed to […]
Planning for Incapacity
Baby Boomers are turning 65 at the rate of 10,000 per day. Alzheimer’s disease affects 1 in 9 people over age 65. And it isn’t just aging. Stroke is the #5 killer in the USA and 49% of Americans have at least one risk factor for […]
Sudden Wealth Syndrome: Don’t Let it Happen To Your Children
With a lottery ticket, Geraldine Williams went from being an average working class woman to a multimillionaire. You’d think her problems were solved, but professors who study those whose fortunes change in a heartbeat say pitfalls could lie ahead. Therapist Stephen Goldbart, PhD, of Kentfield, California, […]
Before Settling a Personal Injury Claim, Consider a Special Needs Trust
This article originally appeared on the Special Needs Answers website. To view the original article, click here. If a person with special needs receives a large personal injury award, paying for health insurance could become an unaffordable expense unless precautions are taken. Consider the case of […]
What Do You Do Anyway? Role of a Trustee
Whether individual family member or professional corporate trustee, the roles and responsibilities of a trustee are the same. Not everyone is aware of the extent, importance and liability of the job. Understanding the responsibilities are important in order to decide whether to take on the extensive […]
SNT Beneficiaries on the Move: First in a Series
This series will review the myriad issues that arise as a result of the increased mobility of the beneficiaries of Special Needs Trusts (SNTs). Gone are the days when a person with a disability was born, lived, and died in the same household or community. The […]
Trust Protectors for Special Needs Trusts
Loving parents set up a special needs trust (SNT) for their child with disabilities and name themselves as trustees. They intend to fund it with assets upon their deaths and provide for the appointment of the husband’s sister as the successor trustee when both parents are […]
Planning for Incapacity
Baby Boomers are turning 65 at the rate of 10,000 per day. Alzheimer’s disease affects 1 in 9 people over age 65. And it isn’t just aging. Stroke is the #5 killer in the USA and 49% of Americans have at least one risk factor for […]
The Social Security Administration’s Special Needs Trusts Review Process
A Supplemental Security Income (SSI) recipient is eligible to receive a monthly cash benefit when the Social Security Administration (SSA) determines that, among other eligibility criteria, the recipient’s income and resources fall below certain limits. Generally, the SSA includes funds held in trust for the benefit […]
Filing a Tax Return for a Special Needs Trust: What a Trustee Needs to Know at Tax Time
Taxation of trusts was the subject of two prior articles that were published in The Voice in 2012. The first article, A Short Primer on Trusts and Trust Taxation authored by SNA members Barb Hughes and Tara Pleat, focused on the taxation of trusts in general. […]
