This post was authored by attorney Shannon Laymon-Pecoraro, CELA of Hook Law Center, P.C., Virginia Beach, VA. Shannon focuses her practice on elder law, special needs planning, estate and trust administration, estate planning, asset protection planning, financial planning, guardianships and conservatorships. She has been a SNA member since 2017. The pandemic has changed every aspect [...]
The following Article for the Voice is an update of one previously published, and reflects the ever-changing rules and regulations with respect to service animals and emotional support animals, particularly: the Americans With Disabilities Act, the U.S. Dept. of Transportation regulations, the U.S. Dept. of Housing and Urban Development rules, and the Fair Housing Act.
This article was co-authored by SNA member Richard Kroll, and by Nicholas S. Proukou, of the Kroll Law Firm LLP. Both focus their practices in Trusts, Estates, and Special Needs Planning. You will find them in Rochester, NY and may visit them at www.kroll-lawoffice.com
The Veterans Administration offers several benefit programs for the families of former members of the uniformed service. These lesser known benefits could help your veterans’ children with disabilities. When Michael Kirtland, CELA, speaks with new clients in his practice, he always includes two key questions: Are you a military veteran? And if so, were you [...]
The Voice® is the e-mail newsletter of the Special Needs Alliance. This installment was written by Sandra L. Smith, CELA, a partner with the firm of Oast & Taylor in Virginia Beach, Virginia. She is certified as an elder law attorney (CELA) by the National Elder Law Foundation and is a 20-year veteran of the U.S. Air Force.
Loud & Clear: Family Conversations tackles the day-to-day and long-range issues that affect the quality of life for people with disabilities and their families. This post offers guidance from an SNA attorney and a social worker, both special needs parents, who have searched for group homes for their adult children. Readers are welcome to comment [...]
This post was authored by attorney Amy C. O’Hara, CELA of Littman Krooks, LLP, New York. Amy focuses her practice on special needs planning, elder law, trusts and estates, and personal injury settlement consulting. She serves on SNA’s Board of Directors. If the pandemic has been difficult for student learning, the situation has only been [...]
The Voice® is the e-mail newsletter of the Special Needs Alliance. This installment was written by Special Needs Alliance member Edward Wilcenski, Esq., a founding partner of the law firm of Wilcenski & Pleat PLLC in Clifton Park, New York. He practices in the areas of Special Needs Planning, Elder Law, and Trust and Estate Planning and Administration. Ed is a past President of the Special Needs Alliance and writes and lectures frequently on issues affecting individuals with disabilities and their families.
This edition of The Voice® is a reprint of an article originally published back in April of 2017. As we head into tax season with so many different things on our minds, we thought it a good idea to reprint this article to remind special needs trust trustees of their obligations at tax time.
The primary focus of this article is to provide an introduction to the tax form that typically must be filed for special needs trusts that are generating income.
Tara Anne Pleat, Esq., CELA, is a founding partner of the law firm of Wilcenski & Pleat PLLC, in Clifton Park, New York. She practices in the areas of Special Needs Planning, Elder Law, and Trust and Estate Planning and Administration. Tara writes and lectures frequently on issues affecting individuals with disabilities and their families. She is currently a Member of the Board of Directors of the Special Needs Alliance.
The Voice® is the e-mail newsletter of the Special Needs Alliance (SNA). This installment was written by a consortium of members of the SNA’s Public Policy Committee. The Public Policy Committee through our public policy consultant, Brian Lindberg, work with members of Congress and congressional staff to educate and advocate on issues of importance to individuals with disabilities and their families. Beginning with this installment, the Public Policy Committee will author periodic issues of the Voice® to introduce our readers to the Public Policy efforts the SNA is directly involved in.
This post was authored by Margaret A. Graham, Esq., of Pregenzer, Baysinger, Wideman & Sale, PC, Albuquerque, New Mexico. She focuses her practice on special needs and elder law, and is caregiver to a child with special needs. Caregiving is hard work, even in normal times. During the pandemic, stress levels can soar. With kids doing schoolwork [...]
This post focuses on the importance of proactive retirement planning for those with a special needs dependent. Planning for retirement can be one of the most rewarding life changes parents go through. Thinking about leisure time, vacations, and a more relaxed pace of life brings feelings of excitement and anticipation. For parents with a special [...]
When life is busy, planning ahead can be difficult. For those who are caring for a loved one with a disability there is so much to do in the present that planning for the future can be difficult and overwhelming. If a court has determined that the loved one lacks the capacity to make decisions [...]
This issue of The Voice® was written by Special Needs Alliance member Amelia Crotwell, CELA, the founding partner of the firm Elder Law of East Tennessee, PLLC, in Knoxville, Tennessee, where she helps clients with Life Care Planning, special needs trust planning, and estate planning. She is a graduate of the University of Tennessee College of Law. She teaches Elder Law at her alma matter and she serves as the President of the Life Care Planning Law Firms Association. Her website is www.elderlawetn.com.
During the pandemic, families have been separated for months on end from loved ones in residential communities, group homes, and nursing homes. For the professionals who run these homes, making the decision to close a campus to family members and loved ones was done after long days of research and discussion about this new and [...]
This post was authored by Roxanne J. Chang, Esq., Plymouth, Michigan. She brings years of direct care, clinical psychology and therapeutic program consulting to her special needs/elder law practice. She serves on SNA’s Board of Directors.
The Voice is the e-mail newsletter of the Special Needs Alliance. This installment was written by Special Needs Alliance member Edward Wilcenski, Esq., a founding partner of the law firm of Wilcenski & Pleat, PLLC in Clifton Park, New York. He practices in the areas of Special Needs Planning, Elder Law, and Trust and Estate Planning and Administration. Ed is a past President of the Special Needs Alliance, and writes and lectures frequently on issues affecting individuals with disabilities and their families
Long-time readers of The Voice know that we rarely repeat an issue. In the world of disability there are many important topics to choose from, so the challenge has really been in deciding which topics are of most interest to our readers rather than finding something interesting in the first place. Because the Voice has many new readers each year, we know that many of our current readers may have missed this article when it first appeared in November of 2010. With this in mind, we’ve decided to reprint this article written by Edward V. Wilcenski, Esq. hoping that it may catch newer readers before they make their final decisions on how to make holiday gifts to their family members and friends with disabilities.
This post was authored by Linda M. Gorczynski, Esq., of Hickman & Lowder Co. LPA, Cleveland, Ohio. She focuses her practice on special education law.
Tucson, AZ – October 27, 2020 – The Special Needs Alliance (SNA) announced today its 2020 – 2021 Board of Directors. The SNA is a national organization of attorneys in the practice of special needs, disability and elder law. “We’re thrilled to have such talented and passionate individuals as our new board of directors,” [...]
This issue of the Voice was written by Special Needs Alliance member Lisa Nachmias Davis, CELA, a partner in the New Haven, Connecticut law firm of Davis O’Sullivan & Priest, LLC. Ms. Davis helps clients with estate planning, setting up or administering special needs trusts, qualifying for public benefits, and probate and estate settlement; she also represents charities and other nonprofit organizations. Her website is sharinglaw.net.