Setting Up a Small Group Home
When contemplating an ideal environment for a loved one with a disability, a small group home is often considered, given its many benefits.
We Are All Advocates, Although Some of Us May Also Be Realtors
This issue of the Voice® is written by SNA Public Policy Advisor Brian Lindberg, Vice President of Health and Aging Policy with Healthsperien LLC in Washington, DC. We all know the real estate maxim, Location, Location, Location. But I am a public policy advisor, not a realtor, so my maxim is Relationships, Relationships, Relationships! Advocacy [...]
Childhood Disability Benefit Fairness Act
The Special Needs Alliance has crafted a legislative solution to a significant problem facing disabled adult children.
Understanding the Role of a Professional Special Needs Trust Trustee
A critical decision for families establishing a Special Needs Trust is the choice of trustee. Many opt for a professional trustee to manage these trusts.
Taxation of Special Needs Trusts: An Overview
This issue of The Voice® was written by SNA member W. Seth Todd of Yussman Special Needs Law & Wyatt Estate Planning in Louisville, KY. His firm serves all of Kentucky and specializes in special needs law and estate planning. It’s that time of year again. If you are the trustee of a special [...]
Special Needs Planners: A Safe Beacon in the Storm
2025-03-18T16:32:41-04:00This issue of The Voice® was written by SNA member Victoria Sulerzyski of Bowie & Jenson, LLC in Towson, Maryland. Her firm serves all of Maryland and focuses on special needs planning, elder law, guardianship, and estate planning and administration. Special needs planners provide expert legal planning and advocacy to and on behalf of families [...]
Understanding Medicaid Work Requirements: What Families Need to Know
The landscape of Medicaid coverage is shifting. Understand how potential Medicaid work requirements could affect healthcare access for people with disabilities.
Naming a Special Needs Trust as Beneficiary of Your IRA or Retirement Plan
This issue of The Voice® is written by Lisa Nachmias Davis, CELA, a partner in the New Haven, Connecticut firm of Davis O’Sullivan & Priest, LLC. If you’re reading this article and have a child or family member with special needs, you’ve probably already set up a third-party special needs trust (sometimes called a supplemental [...]
AI Tools Opening New Doors for Adults With Special Needs
AI-powered tools are helping adults with disabilities achieve greater independence and success in employment, daily living, and community participation.
Care Managers and How They Support Individuals with Disabilities
This issue of The Voice® was written by SNA member Kristen M. Lewis of Harrison, LLP in Atlanta, Georgia. Her firm focuses on special needs, estate and trust administration, guardianship and conservatorship, and estate planning. A professional care manager may be the most valuable – yet least recognized – member of a family’s team of [...]
AI in the Classroom: Creating New Opportunities for Students with Special Needs
Discover how AI is transforming special education through personalized learning tools and adaptive technologies that support students with disabilities.
Special Needs Planning: Ensuring a Smooth Transition
Planning for the future can feel daunting, but it doesn’t have to be. By taking the time carefully to plan now, you can ensure a smooth transition later.
When A Self-Settled Special Needs Trust May Not Be the Best Option: Thinking Outside of the Box
This issue of The Voice® is written by SNA member Thomas Begley, CELA of Begley Law Group in Moorestown, New Jersey. His firm specializes in special needs planning, special needs trusts, guardianship, and estate planning. When a personal injury settlement is received, the first reaction for many people is, “Let’s use the money to fund [...]
Preparing for Tomorrow: What Parents of Adult Children with Special Needs Need to Know
For parents of children with special needs, growing older doesn’t just mean preparing for your retirement and worrying about creaky joints. Ensuring your adult child's future health, happiness, and financial well-being requires preparation, too.
Supplemental Needs Trust Distribution and Special Needs Housing Subsidies
This issue of The Voice® is written by SNA member Kristin L. Steckbeck with Dale, Huffman & Babcock in Bluffton, Indiana. Serving northeastern Indiana, her firm focuses on special needs planning, estate planning, long-term care planning and probate, estate, and trust administration. Administering a supplemental need trust (SNT) for a beneficiary receiving federally subsidized [...]
Special Needs Alliance Welcomes New Leadership for 2024-2025
2024-10-21T14:43:06-04:00TUCSON, AZ, [October 22, 2024] - The Special Needs Alliance (SNA), a premier network of attorneys dedicated to disability and public benefits law, has announced its new leadership team for the 2024-2025 term. As the landscape of disability rights and services continues to evolve, this group of leaders is poised to drive forward the SNA's [...]
Sexual Expression, Health, and Relationships of Persons with Disabilities
This issue of The Voice® was written by SNA member Kristen M. Lewis and her colleague Emma H. Barry, both of Harrison, LLP in Atlanta, Georgia. Their firm focuses on special needs, estate and trust administration, guardianship and conservatorship and estate planning. People with disabilities were created as sexual beings, just like people without disabilities. [...]
What’s So Great About Supplement Security Income & Medicare for Adults with Special Needs
This article is provided by SNA member Elizabeth Gray, CELA or McCandlish & Lillard in Fairfax, VA. Elizabeth focuses her practice on elder law and special needs law; trust, estate and guardianship disputes; and, wills, trusts and estates. This is an overview of the fundamentals of public benefits law, particularly focusing on Social Security’s need-based [...]
Navigating Special Needs Planning in the Post-SECURE Act Landscape
This issue of The Voice® is written by SNA member Shannon Laymon-Pecoraro, CELA of Parks Zeigler, PLLC in Virginia Beach, VA. Her firm’ services clients in the areas of family law, elder law, special needs planning, and will, trusts, and estates.