Monthly Archives: November 2013

Guardianship and Mental Illness

By Martha C. Brown, CELA When someone is living with severe mental illness, the process of obtaining guardianship can be particularly complex. Symptoms may be intermittent, leading individuals to resist legally imposed assistance and making it difficult for a court to establish whether or not they are competent to care for themselves. The goal, of [...]

2024-03-12T10:22:20-04:00

Family Members Should Consider Trust Protector Role

By Robert B. Fleming, CELA, Tucson, AZ For family members wishing to participate in the care of a loved one with special needs, the role of trustee isn't always a good match. Family members may not be particularly familiar with investing, accounting and tax returns. They may not have time to handle ongoing disbursements, or [...]

2022-11-24T09:11:45-05:00

Reflections on Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month

By Reginald H. Turnbull, CELA March is Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month, a time to reflect on the truly dramatic advances made by the special needs community, as well as the challenges remaining before us. Families that have advocated on behalf of loved ones with disabilities are remarkable. They have consistently eschewed labels, fighting to eradicate [...]

2021-01-11T10:25:02-05:00

Mental Illness Awareness Month

A Largely Unaddressed Epidemic By Laurie Hanson, Esq. October is Mental Illness Awareness Month, almost an oxymoron. Do you realize that more people in the U.S. have mental illness than any other disability? That a quarter of all adults experience mental illness each year? And that over 50 percent of them will go without the [...]

2021-01-11T10:24:53-05:00

Harkin Report Cites Lack of Community Services

By Bridget O’Brien Swartz, CELA In 1999, the Supreme Court's Olmstead decision found that delivering services in a segregated setting when such services could otherwise be provided in a less restrictive, more integrated setting, violated the Americans with Disabilities Act. As a result, states were directed to provide services within the mainstream community to the [...]

2021-01-11T10:24:45-05:00

Looming Budget Deadlines Threaten Safety Net

By Bridget O’Brien Swartz, CELA and Morris Klein, CELA As federal budget deliberations become increasingly urgent, there are a number of issues in play: Given that Senate and House versions of the 2014 budget are $91 billion apart and that the fiscal year begins on October 1, a short-term continuing resolution to provide temporary funding [...]

2024-03-12T10:48:09-04:00

Tax Planning for Families With Special Needs

By Bradley J. Frigon, CELA As tax-paying season approaches, there are a number of tax obligations and deduction opportunities that families with special needs should bear in mind. It's important to realize that the investment income generated by funds deposited in a special needs trust (SNT) are taxable, yet the details differ, depending upon the [...]

2023-03-09T11:20:22-05:00Tags: |

Structured Settlements and SNTs

Protecting Public Benefits By John F. Kearns III, CELA, West Hartford, Connecticut When settling a personal injury case, the value that public benefits will bring to the plaintiff's quality of life should be carefully assessed. Means-tested programs such as Medicaid and SSI will often play a central role in providing healthcare and maintaining financial security. [...]

2021-01-11T10:23:56-05:00

The Untapped Talent of Workers with Disabilities

By Jefferey Yussman, Esq. Unemployment for people with disabilities hit 16.8 percent last summer. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission reports that in fiscal 2011, it received more complaints of disability-related employment discrimination than during the previous year. Much misunderstanding persists concerning the individual capabilities of people with special needs. Researchers at Cornell University, for instance, [...]

2024-02-29T08:00:36-05:00

March Is Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month

Advances and Setbacks By Robert B. Fleming, CELA In 1987 President Ronald Reagan proclaimed March “Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month.” The deinstitutionalization movement of the seventies and early eighties had laid the foundation for significant social change, and the presidential proclamation called upon Americans to provide the "encouragement and opportunities" necessary for people with developmental disabilities [...]

2022-11-24T09:22:51-05:00

Microboards and Guardianship

By Ann McGee Green, Esq. This past summer, one of my client families was successful in having – for the first time in Virginia – a microboard-named guardian for their foster daughter with special needs. A microboard is a formalized "circle of support," a non-profit corporation consisting of a small group of individuals who assist [...]

2021-01-11T10:23:15-05:00

Head Over Heart Moving to a Group Home

By Brian Rubin, Esq. Deciding whether or not an adult child with disabilities should move from the family home into a supported, community-based residence can be wrenching experience. Aside from a desire for their loved one to live as fulfilling and independent a life as possible, mom and dad must plan for the time when [...]

2021-01-11T10:23:07-05:00

Self-Advocacy’s Growing Momentum

By Martha C. Brown, CELA Today, the expectations of individuals with special needs are radically different from those of previous generations. They plan to participate in community life to the fullest extent possible, based upon their individual capabilities. And this attitude is mirrored by many family members. A growing self-advocacy movement stresses the intention of [...]

2024-02-28T10:22:27-05:00

When Medicaid or SSI Benefits are Denied or Terminated – Now What?

The Voice is the e-mail newsletter of The Special Needs Alliance. This installment was written by Special Needs Alliance members Ann N. Butenhof, CELA and Judith L. Bomster, Esq., of Butenhof & Bomster, P.C., in Manchester, New Hampshire. Both Ann and Judith focus their practices on estate planning, special needs planning, elder law, and probate and trust administration. Ann is a Certified Elder Law Attorney and a Fellow of the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel (ACTEC). Judith currently serves on the Ethics Committee of the New Hampshire Bar Association, and was the primary drafts person for New Hampshire's first pooled special needs trust program for third party trusts. Both Ann and Judith are members of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys (NAELA).

2021-01-11T10:22:20-05:00

Home Care for Alzheimer’s

By Ruth Courtney, Richard A. Courtney, CELA, & Morris Klein, CELA In the U.S., 70 percent of those diagnosed with Alzheimer's are cared for at home, creating a stressful balancing act for family members. Care needs differ dramatically, shaped by the course of the loved one's disease, as Alzheimer's affects people differently. The caregiver's personal [...]

2021-01-11T10:22:13-05:00

Preparation Pays at Special Ed Meetings

By Hyman Darling, Esq., Massachusetts  With special ed spending down 11 percent since 2010, parents may find meetings with the local Committee on Special Education (CSE) increasingly tense. When negotiating with educational experts, families often feel intimidated and outgunned, so it's important to arrive prepared. Prior to your first meeting with the CSE, talk to [...]

2021-01-11T10:18:52-05:00