As the parent of a child with special needs, you understand the joy these children can bring to a family and the everyone around them. You may also worry about your child’s future in general and especially about that future if something happens to you. The good news is that many children with special needs live independent lives as adults; however, as a parent you may still want to ensure your child has your financial support even after you are gone. A Huntersville special needs planning … [Read more...] about Do You Need to Incorporate Special Needs Planning into Your Estate Plan?
How Can a Special Needs Trust Trustee Use the Funds?
A special needs trust can make the life of a person with a disability much more comfortable, and the trustee has wide latitude with regard to the nature of the expenditures. We will provide the details here, but first, we will share an overview to provide context. Need-Based Benefits Clearly, people with physical or cognitive challenges can need expensive healthcare throughout their lives. Most Americans get health insurance through their employers, but many of these folks are unable to work … [Read more...] about How Can a Special Needs Trust Trustee Use the Funds?
An Overview of SSDI and SSI
Acronyms that sound similar can be confusing, and there are plenty of them in the elder law and estate planning realm. In this post, we will provide clarity with regard to Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) and Supplemental Security Income (SSI). SSDI When you work and pay FICA taxes, you earn retirement credits that lead to eligibility for Social Security and Medicare. This year, you get one credit for every $1470 that you earn, and the maximum annual accrual is four … [Read more...] about An Overview of SSDI and SSI
Preserve Benefits With a Supplemental Needs Trust
When you plan your estate, you are naturally going to evaluate the assets that you have to pass along to your loved ones and decide how to go about doing it. On the other side of the coin, it is also important to consider the life situation of each person on your inheritance list. With this in mind, we will look at the value of supplemental needs trusts in this blog post. Need-Based Benefits If there is someone with special needs that you would like to provide for in your estate plan, you have … [Read more...] about Preserve Benefits With a Supplemental Needs Trust
Medicaid Eligibility Is Not Necessarily Permanent
There are numerous different ways to facilitate postmortem asset transfers. You should explore all of your options when you are devising an estate plan so you can provide for each person on your inheritance list in the ideal fashion. Different people in your family are going to be in different life situations, and you should give the matter careful consideration. If you act in an uninformed manner, you could make mistakes that result in negative consequences. With the above in mind, we will … [Read more...] about Medicaid Eligibility Is Not Necessarily Permanent
Special Needs Planning: Preserving Income
There is no cookie-cutter, one-size-fits-all estate plan. Each situation is different, and the people that you love are all going to be in different life situations. You should take the right steps to make sure that each individual on your inheritance list is provided for in the optimal manner. With this in mind, let's look at special needs planning and the preservation of income. Government Benefit Eligibility Many people with special needs are enrolled in government benefit programs that are … [Read more...] about Special Needs Planning: Preserving Income
Can an Inheritance Cause a Loss of Government Benefits?
Leaving someone an inheritance should be a positive thing on every level. However, there are different ways to go about it, and leaving a direct lump sum inheritance to everyone on your list is not always a good idea. With this in mind, let's look at people with special needs and the government benefit programs that they often rely upon. Medicaid and Supplemental Security Income Health insurance is obviously essential for people with special needs, and Medicaid is often the source. This … [Read more...] about Can an Inheritance Cause a Loss of Government Benefits?
