Shirley B. Whitenack, Esq., Florham Park, New Jersey Under the Affordable Care Act (ACA), a hybrid system comprised of Medicaid and state-based insurance exchanges seeks to extend health coverage to all Americans. How will this shape the life care plans that families establish for loved ones with disabilities? Will special needs trusts (SNTs) continue to [...]
By Ethel Zelenske, Co-Chair, Social Security Task Force, Consortium for Citizens with Disabilities The Consortium for Citizens with Disabilities (CCD) is a working coalition of more than 100 national consumer, advocacy, provider and professional organizations, working together with, and on behalf of, the 57 million children and adults with disabilities and their families living in [...]
By Bridget O’Brien Swartz, CELA As the 113th Congress gets down to business, it's all about the budget. Given the limited tax hike that was approved in the early hours of 2013, the long-term sustainability of many social services remains an issue and cuts appear inevitable. The question is where they will fall. Although entitlement [...]
This issue of The Voice was written by Special Needs Alliance member Tara Anne Pleat, Esq., 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.
By Jeremy Hilton I am a Navy veteran and spouse to an active duty Air Force member. After our daughter, Kate, was born with a number of significant disabilities, I resigned my commission to be a stay-at-home dad. This year I was honored as Military Spouse of the Year for my advocacy on behalf of [...]
By Pi-Yi G. Mayo, CELA It's been said that navigating the Social Security and Medicaid systems is a "sprint," while applying for Veterans Administration (VA) benefits is a "marathon." The relevant law is far more complex and the process is riddled with challenges. In 2009, the VA set itself the goal of the resolving all [...]
The Voice is the e-mail newsletter of The Special Needs Alliance. This installment was written by Special Needs Alliance member Laurie Hanson, Esq., a shareholder in the Minneapolis, Minnesota elder law firm of Long, Reher & Hanson, P.A. The firm's focus is to provide positive strategies to individuals who are aging or living with disabilities to enable them to live as independently as possible for as long as possible. Laurie concentrates her practice exclusively in the areas of government benefit eligibility, special needs trusts, trust and public benefit litigation, estate planning and planning for incapacity. She is the past president of the Elder Law Section of the Minnesota State Bar Association and is repeatedly named a Super Lawyer in the field of elder law by her peers.
The Voice is the email newsletter of The Special Needs Alliance. This installment was written by Mary Alice Jackson, Esq., a member of the Special Needs Alliance and active participant on its Public Policy Committee. She is a partner at Boyer & Jackson, P.A., with offices in Sarasota, Florida, and Austin, Texas. Her practice includes special needs and long-term care planning, estate planning, probate and end-of-life issues. Mary Alice is also an active member of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys, a past Chair of the Florida Bar Elder Law Section, and an adjunct professor in the Stetson University College of Law Elder LL.M. program.
The Voice is the e-mail newsletter of The Special Needs Alliance. This installment was written by Special Needs Alliance member Barbara Isenhour, Esq., of the firm of Isenhour Bleck, PLLC in Seattle, Washington. The firm focuses on government benefits for individuals with disabilities and estate planning for families with special needs children. A board member of NAMI Eastside in Redmond, Washington, and Full Life Care in Seattle, Barbara frequently lectures around the state of Washington on issues involving special needs trusts and government benefits for the elderly and disabled.
The Voice is the e-mail newsletter of The Special Needs Alliance. This installment was written by Special Needs Alliance members Lisa Nachmias Davis, CELA of the New Haven, Connecticut law firm of Davis O'Sullivan & Priest, LLC, where her practice concentrates on elder law, planning for those with special needs, estate planning and administration, and advice to not-for-profit organizations. A member of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys (NAELA) and the Connecticut Bar Association's Elder Law Section executive Committee, in 2011 she was named one of the 25 best women lawyers in Connecticut and one of the top 50 women lawyers in New England by SuperLawyers, a Thompson Reuters business that rates attorneys.
The Voice is the e-mail newsletter of The Special Needs Alliance. This installment was written by Sandra L. Smith, CELA who is a law partner with Andrew Hook, a Special Needs Alliance member from the law firm of Oast & Hook, P.C. in Suffolk and Virginia Beach, Virginia. She is the editor of the firm's weekly newsletter, the "Oast & Hook News," which is available on the firm's website and is certified as an elder law attorney by the National Elder Law Foundation. Sandra is the co-author of the "Special Needs Trusts" chapter for the Elder Law in Virginia handbook published by Virginia CLE. She retired from the United States Air Force as a Lieutenant Colonel with over 20 years active duty service, and earned her law degree from the College of William and Mary School of Law.
By Carol S. Battaglia, Esq. Medicaid, jointly funded by the federal government and individual states, is arguably the most important public benefit available to individuals with disabilities. While eligibility guidelines, services and payment rates vary widely, the federal government requires that all state Medicaid programs pay for physician visits, prescriptions, hospitalization, lab work, x-rays and [...]
By Kelly A. Thompson, Esq. Managing the care of a child with special needs is time-consuming and stressful. But for military families, who must relocate every three years, the process is grueling. A recently published study, co-authored by the National Council on Disability and the U.S. Marine Corps, details the challenges faced by participants in [...]
Jefferey Yussman, Esq. is a member of the Estate Planning Group of Wyatt Tarrant & Combs, LLP, in Louisville, Kentucky, where he chairs the firm's special needs planning practice. His practice is concentrated in the areas of estate planning and administration, business succession planning and charitable planning, but the birth of his two special needs children 20 years ago led him into the sub-specialty of planning for individuals with special needs. In addition to the Special Needs Alliance (where he is a member of the board), Mr Yussman is a Fellow of the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel, and is listed in America's Best Lawyers, Estate Planning (Kentucky estate planner of the year in 2010) and Elder Law, as well as Kentucky Super Lawyers. Mr. Yussman is the current board chairman of Wellspring, a Kentucky organization providing crisis stabilization and housing supports for mentally ill adults, and is a current executive board member of The Community Foundation of Louisville.
By Barbara Isenhour, Esq. Individuals with disabilities and their families often worry about the effect that the individual's working will have on government benefits. Holding a job—aside from delivering a paycheck—is an important route to independence and self-esteem. On the other hand, disability cash benefits such as SSDI (Social Security Disability Insurance) and SSI (Supplemental [...]
The Voice is the e-mail newsletter of The Special Needs Alliance. This installment was written by Special Needs Alliance member Gregory Wilcox, of the Law Office of Gregory Wilcox in Berkeley, California. His firm focuses on government benefits and estate planning for the elderly and for individuals with disabilities. Greg is a Certified Elder Law Attorney (CELA); co-author of Special Needs Trusts: Planning, Drafting, and Administration and California Elder Law Resources, Benefits, and Planning; and a board member of California Advocates for Nursing Home Reform (CANHR) in San Francisco. Other articles he has written can be found on the CANHR website.
The Voice is the e-mail newsletter of The Special Needs Alliance. This installment was written by Special Needs Alliance member Barbara Isenhour, Esq., of the firm of Isenhour Bleck, PLLC in Seattle, Washington. The firm focuses on government benefits for individuals with disabilities and estate planning for families with special needs children. A board member of NAMI Eastside in Redmond, Washington, and Full Life Care in Seattle, Barbara frequently lectures around the state of Washington on issues involving special needs trusts and government benefits for the elderly and disabled.
The Voice is the e-mail newsletter of The Special Needs Alliance. This installment was written by Special Needs Alliance member Barbara Isenhour, Esq., of the firm of Isenhour Bleck, PLLC in Seattle, Washington. The firm focuses on government benefits for individuals with disabilities and estate planning for families with special needs children. A board member of NAMI Eastside in Redmond, Washington, and Full Life Care in Seattle, Barbara frequently lectures around the state of Washington on issues involving special needs trusts and government benefits for the elderly and disabled.
By Katherine N. Barr, Esq. The prevalence of divorce for couples having a child with special needs is hotly contested. Some studies cite divorce rates up to 85 percent, while studies at the Kennedy Center at Vanderbilt University have reported significantly lower rates than the general population for couples having a child with Down syndrome. [...]
The Voice is the e-mail newsletter of The Special Needs Alliance. This installment was written by Special Needs Alliance member Carol S. Battaglia, Esq. of San Diego, California. She is one of the authors of Special Needs Trusts: Planning, Drafting and Administration, published by the State Bar of California. Carol also serves as counsel to the Special Needs Trust Foundation of San Diego, a charitable pooled special needs trust. Her practice is limited to the creation of estate plans using special needs trusts and assisting trial lawyers in implementing special needs trusts and other strategies to receive an injured party's settlement funds while maintaining eligibility for government assistance.