Originally published in March 2020, the original version of this Voice® article was written by SNA member Leonard Anderson. The article was updated in 2026 with appreciation and gratitude for the original author’s work, with revisions by Latisha Bernard Schuenemann. Supplemental Security Income (SSI) is a means-tested federal program that provides cash assistance to individuals [...]
Have You Heard About HOTMA? Eligibility Rules Are Changing for Subsidized Housing This issue of the Voice was written by SNA member Emily Starr, CELA, of Starr Traiger LLP in Worcester, Massachusetts. Serving central Massachusetts, her firm specializes in special needs planning, estate and trust administration, guardianship and conservatorship, estate planning, and elder law. The [...]
This issue of The Voice® was written by SNA member Ashely Shannon Burke, CELA, of Burke & Pecquet, LLC in Cincinnati, Ohio. The firm focuses on special needs planning, elder law, Medicaid and estate planning. Are you ready for when disaster strikes? According to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), approximately 57 percent of American [...]
No Medicaid repayment is necessary upon the beneficiary’s death for third-party supplemental needs trusts. But what happens if the third-party trust purchases a home for the beneficiary, is it subject to the Social Security Administration’s (SSA) one-third reduction rule? The following answers that question.
This blog post discusses ABLE accounts and how they work with Section 8 Housing to provide affordable and adequate housing for individuals with special needs.
For many families, providing adequate housing for a child with special needs can be fairly straightforward, particularly if the child remains in the primary residence with one or both parents. As the child gets older, there are considerations that need to be dealt with to ensure stability as they enter into adulthood and their aging [...]
When contemplating an ideal environment for a loved one with a disability, a small group home is often considered, given its many benefits. In the majority of instances, families will work to find a placement in an existing group home that is typically owned and operated by a local non-profit service agency. In other [...]
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 [...]
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.
This issue of The Voice is written by Martha C. Brown, CELA, a Special Needs Alliance member in St. Louis, Missouri. Martha limits her practice to elder law and special needs law. A Fellow of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys and a Certified Elder Law Attorney, Martha has been designated a Super Lawyer for the last six years in Kansas City Magazine. Through her numerous community presentations and continuing legal education presentations, Martha helps attorneys and the public understand and address legal issues concerning the elderly and people with disabilities. Currently Martha is participating in the state wide task force to rewrite the guardianship code in Missouri.
The Voice is the email newsletter of The Special Needs Alliance. This installment was written by Special Needs Alliance member Martha C. Brown, CELA, at the St. Louis, Missouri law firm of Martha C. Brown & Associates, LLC. She limits her practice to elder law and special needs law. A Fellow of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys and a Certified Elder Law Attorney, Martha has been designated a Super Lawyer in Kansas City Magazine for the last five years. Through her continuing legal education presentations and community presentations, Martha helps attorneys and the public understand and address legal issues concerning the elderly and people with disabilities.
The Voice is the e-mail newsletter of The Special Needs Alliance. This installment was written by Walnut Creek, California Special Needs Alliance member Stephen W. Dale, Esq. of The Dale Law Firm, PC. Mr. Dale is a disability rights advocate and attorney dedicated to providing quality estate planning. He is a frequent speaker on a variety of disability related topics across the country. Mr. Dale regularly teaches courses to the public, financial professionals, and other attorneys on special needs trusts and trust administration. Additionally, Mr. Dale serves as the trustee for the Golden State Pooled Trust. Mr. Dale offers numerous videos and handouts to the public and his colleagues, many online through his Achieving Independence initiative.