Are you looking for a way to put away money to pay for expenses of a loved one with disabilities? Then you should consider creating a New York “ABLE” account. “ABLE” stands for “Achieving a Better Life Experience”. To qualify…
Social Security and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits are incredibly important for many senior citizens and individuals with special needs. It can be devastating if there is a disruption in these benefits of any kind. In order to avoid disruption…
Every trust is comprised of an agreement between two people – a grantor who is donating funds to the trust, and a trustee who manages the donated funds as outlined by the grantor in the trust document. The funds in…
Over the past couple of years, when on social media, I have seen more and more crowdfunding and personal fundraising efforts. Crowdfunding sites such as GoFundMe and Kickstarter cut out the middleman of fundraising, allowing the person or organization in…
The federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) guarantees all children a free and appropriate education in the least restrictive environment. IDEA requires that children with special needs receive individual educational plans that include specialized in-school and after school services…
Back in Diciembre of 2016, we shared the wonderful news of President Obama signing the Special Needs Trust Fairness Act into law. When announced, New York State was out of compliance with this new federal law. On Mayo 22, 2017,…
Social Security is a retirement benefit for individuals who are working and contributing to the social security system. However, it also has a benefit for disabled workers and disabled individuals. Supplemental Security Disability Social Security Disability (SSD) is a plan…
A MOLST (Medical Orders for Life-Sustaining Treatment) form is a medical order form that tells healthcare providers a patient’s medical orders for life-sustaining treatment. The form includes medical orders and patient preferences regarding resuscitation instructions when the patient has no…
Parents of children with special needs will inevitably face the following question: Who is going to make health care and financial decisions for my child when I am unable to do so?
Planning and preparing the appropriate documentation for children with special needs will ensure protection for your loved ones.
We often see clients with concerns about loved ones who receive government benefits such as Supplemental Security Income (SSI) and/or Medicaid. Since SSI and Medicaid have very strict rules as to how much money and how much income beneficiaries can have in their name, clients often want to be sure that their gift does not affect SSI and/or Medicaid benefits. It’s very important in this type of situation to implement proper planning that protects their loved one’s important benefits.