by Andrew Sykes | Aug 12, 2016 | Elder Law - General, Special Needs Trusts, Trusts, Wills
Some disabled individuals may now obtain tax-advantaged accounts, similar to 529 college savings accounts, to pay for expenses related to disability. These accounts result from the Achieving a Better Life Experience (ABLE) Act passed by Congress in 2014. Allowable...
by Andrew Sykes | Apr 26, 2016 | Elder Law - General, Special Needs Trusts, Trusts
Many disabled individuals in the U.S. receive public benefits from programs that place restrictions on the dollar amount (typically $2,000) of assets a recipient can own. Medicaid and SSI are two examples. Federal and state law allow the establishment of certain...
by Andrew Sykes | Feb 16, 2015 | Caregivers, Special Needs Trusts
A special needs trust holds assets (usually funds) for the benefit of a disabled person without affecting any public benefits the person may receive, such as SSI or Medicaid. Those assets can then be used for the disabled person’s benefit. Current law allows a...
by Andrew Sykes | Dec 22, 2014 | Special Needs Trusts
The Achieving a Better Life Experience (ABLE) Act recently won Congressional approval in the Senate. The ABLE Act lets people with disabilities and their families set up special savings accounts for disability-related expenses without facing loss of their federal...
by Andrew Sykes | Oct 31, 2011 | Special Needs Trusts
When someone uses his or her own money to set up a special needs trust (SNT for short) for another person, that’s called a “third party” SNT. It’s the best kind of SNT for two reasons. First, unlike a “first party” or “self settled” SNT (established with...
by Andrew Sykes | Oct 29, 2011 | Special Needs Trusts
You may know that a special needs trust generally pays for the supplemental needs of the disabled, in order to preserve access to means-tested public benefits. But what are those supplemental needs? Commonly paid items Below is a list of items that are often paid for...