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Academy
of Special Needs Planners Featured on CBS TV News - November
27, 2008
ASNP Co-founder Harry
S. Margolis appears in a segment titled "Families with Special Needs Kids
Seek Advice" on CBS Boston's affiliate News Channel WBZ TV. Follow link above
to see the video. Type in "Special Needs Families" in the search field.
The story originally aired on the November 27th nightly news program. Click
here to read the text version "Special Needs Planners Help Families Get
Care". Advisors
May Recommend Medicare Trust (News-Press.com)
Use of a Special
Needs Trust, or SNT, to qualify for Medicaid and SSI. An
Estate Plan Built for Special Needs (Wall Street Journal)
This is a great summary of what we spend every day doing and it was written with
input from some of our friends. Caring
for a Special Needs Child - Difficult Questions, Difficult Answers
(Corp - 9/1/07)
Parents with a special needs child worry most about
what will happen to that child when they are no longer able to care for him or
her...planning for the child’s life after the parent’s death can become
complicated. Duties
and Responsibilities of the Trustee of a Special Needs Trust (Patricia
E. Kefalas Dudek)
A memorandum that outlines the various duties and responsibilities
of a Trustee under current Michigan law. Establishing
a Special Needs Trust for your Child with a Disability
(Law Office of Steven Ratner)
How can you plan for the financial future of
your child to balance private resources of a family with public assistance? Exceptional
Parent Magazine (November
2008)
This entire is devoted to Financial, Estate and Tax Planning for those
with special needs. The site requires a one-time free registration to access the
magazine. After registration, use the following link: November
2008. Fight
Against Inappropriate Annuities for Seniors and How Elder Law Attorneys Can Help
(Elder Law Answers - 6/17/08)
Andrew
Friedman, a specialist in class actions against the insurance industry, describes
how insurance companies convince the elderly to purchase inappropriate deferred
annuities, how these practices are being combated in the courts and what individual
elder law attorneys can do to help in the fight against the products. Financially
Preparing for Special-Needs Kids (Elder
Law Attorney - 10/20/08)
A good, simple overview of planning
for a child with disabilities. Funding
a Special Needs Trust: How Much is Enough? (Academy
of Special Needs Planners - Sept. 2007)
As a parent or guardian, you want to
ensure that your child with special needs will remain financially secure even
when you are no longer there to provide support. Key
Decisions in Setting Up a Special Needs Trust (Special Needs Answers
- Sept. 2008)
Although it may sound complicated, at heart a special needs
trust is merely a trust established for the benefit of someone with special needs.
Life
Settlement Agent Makes Life Easy (Go
Articles by William Regal - Sept. 2007)
Life settlement schemes and programs
are gaining popularity by loan seekers, insurance agents, financial planners,
elder law attorneys, and other financial professionals. Next
Steps: Children can help mom best with advice of a lawyer (Post-Gazette
- 11/25/08)
A good summary of Medicaid planning and the use of special needs
trusts. Planning
for IRA Beneficiaries with Disabilities (Oast & Hook Elder Law
News - June 2007)
An owner of an IRA needs to be aware of the importance
of careful planning when an IRA beneficiary has a disability . Planning
Matters: How to Provide for Special-Needs Children
(The Times Herald.com - 12/28/08)
Special-needs children also may be on some
form of governmental assistance, such as Supplemental Security Income, Social
Security Disability Income or Medicaid. Preserving
Disability Benefits When Settling Personal Injury, Divorce & Worker Comp.
Claims
(Lawrence A. Friedman, Esq.) (search Articles
for title)
When arranging nearly any kind of payment for a disabled person–
whether litigation or administrative award, alimony, child support, gift, or inheritance–
lawyers must take account of disability program regulations, which are complex,
often defy common sense, and may be at odds with tax considerations. Protect
Loved Ones with Special Needs Trust
(The Advertiser.com - 12/15/08)
If you're a parent of one of the six million
school-age disabled children in the U.S. today, you know that job can be even
more challenging, especially financially. Representing
and Acting as Trustee of a Special Needs Trust (Patricia E. Kefalas
Dudek - 2005)
This is from a speech I gave in October, 2005. Settlement
and Estate Planning to Safeguard Disability Aid (Lawrence A. Friedman,
Esq.) (search Articles for title)
Because so many disabled people
rely on government programs for housing, food, medical care, day programs and
other important benefits, two concerns arise when drawing wills, trusts and settlements
that impact a client or client’s loved one with serious disabilities. Settling
Personal Injury, Divorce and Other Claims and Estate Plan to Safeguard Disability
Aid
(Lawrence A. Friedman, Esq.) (search Articles for
title)
Whether settling a disabled client’s personal injury, divorce,
probate, or worker compensation claim or planning an estate, two considerations
should be paramount: preserving eligibility for government programs and resolving
public benefit liens. Some
Gifts Take More Than They Give (Register-Herald - 12/19/08)
"Families
of children with special needs must be very careful about accepting gifts from
well meaning friends and family....Families have literally lost thousands of dollars
in aid and services because they didn’t know how to plan.” Special
Needs Alliance - The Voice
Newsletter (Jan. 2009)
Providing information and answers about special needs
planning for family members and professionals.
The
Effect of Military Survivor Benefits on a Child With Special Needs
(Academy of Special Needs Planners -
6/30/2008)
When retirement
looms, many military families with children with special needs face a decision
about whether or not to choose the Survivor Benefit Plan (SBP) retirement option.
Receipt of SBP payments could jeopardize the child's eligibility for SSI and Medicaid.
Think
About a Special Needs Trust
(Chadd Leadership Blog - 12/3/08)
Ever think about how you will provide for
your child with special needs once you are no longer around? Any family with a
child who has significant special needs should consider establishing such a trust.
Using
Annuities for Long-Term Care Planning
(Elder Law Weblog - 9/23/08)
Insurance agents and financial institutions often
advertise annuities as the perfect way to generate retirement income. While annuities
can be a valuable retirement tool, if you are buying an annuity as part of a Medi-Cal
planning strategy, you need to fully understand what you are getting. Worst
Mistakes Made in Planning and Drafting SNTs (Academy of Special Needs
Planners - 7/14/08)
From the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys Symposium,
info on a presentation that focused on "The Top Worst Mistakes Attorneys
and Trustees Make When Planning, Drafting or Administering Special Needs Trusts."
Writing
a Memorandum of Intent for a Special Needs Child (Donald D. Vanarelli
Blog - 11/7/08)
How can you ensure that your special needs child will remain
well cared for and secure once others assume the role of guardian or caregiver?
Also see sample Letter
of Intent. | 
