Special Needs News

Are you thinking about starting to collect your Social Security retirement benefits soon?  When the parent of an SSI recipient retires, there may be an opportunity for the child to apply for Social Security Disabled Adult Child Benefits (DAC) based on the earnings record of the parent. This can be highly beneficial because (1) the benefit may be higher than SSI, (2) the child can receive...

Over the years in my practice I have encountered many situations in which a discretionary trust was written into a Will to receive the inheritance of a person who had disabilities. Often the testator (person who was signing the Will) specifically wanted to protect the funds becuse they knew the person with disabilities relied on government programs like Medicaid or SSI. However, since the...

I recently had the occasion to make a house call to meet with a client who had stopped working about 4 years ago in his early 50’s. He became gravely, permanently  ill and eventually needed to apply for Social Security Disability benefits, which were approved. He had to endure the two-year wait until he could receive Medicare. As he got caught up in the throes of his illness, with...

As you begin making your plans for retirement, don’t neglect to prepare or update your estate plan. Your plan may be decades-old, or maybe you never even signed any documents for a plan. It’s a good idea to start thinking about a variety of issues at this time. Here are some of them. It’s important to sign  a Durable Power of Attorney and Health Care proxy to designate the...

Do you have an emerging young adult in your family who is not under a guardianship?  After their 18th birthday, you may want to consider having them meet with an attorney to discuss a durable power of attorney, health care proxy and a Will. People often say, “why do I need a Will?” or “isn’t estate planning for wealthy people?” The fact is that basic estate...

The State of New Jersey provides part time home health care services to eligible individuals through the Medicaid Managed Long-Term Services and Supports (MLTSS) home and community  program (formerly called Global Options). Applicants are individuals who require an institutional level of care because they require assistance in three or more of their Activities of Daily Living (ADL’s),...

Are you a grandparent who lovingly agreed to co-sign your grandchild’s  college loans? Do you have unpaid alimony obligations under an old court order? You may have been under the impression since you retired that “Social Security Benefits are secure against all creditors,” and that they cannot be attached to satisfy a judgment. This is certainly the general rule. 42 USC...

More than 5.4 million people enrolled in health insurance plans through the federally subsidized health insurance exchanges that were established by the Affordable Care Act (ACA), and 86% of them were eligible for subsidies, according to the NY Times on June 27th. The Department of Health and Human Services has issued regulations that enable most ACA enrollees to have their policies...

Back in the mid-1980’s, Congress enacted the Social Security Disability Benefits Reform Act, and the Social Security Administration (SSA) adopted a Medical Improvement Review Standard (MIRS)  to provide a method to evaluate whether a person’s disability had improved to the point that the person is capable once again of engaging in substantial gainful activity (work). Congress...

The term “Special Needs Trust” typically refers to a “first party trust,” funded with assets that belong to a person under 65 who has disabilities. Federal law for the Medicaid and SSI programs  — 42 USC 1396p(d)(4)(a) and 42 USC 1382b(c)(C)(ii) –allows an applicant to transfer their excess resources into a Special Needs Trust without being disqualified for...