Estate Planning

Among the many challenges for families is making sure there will always be enough money to provide lifetime care for special needs children.  One solution is to fund a special needs trust with life insurance.

A good special needs plan involves many key players, including a guardian, a health care proxy, an executor, a trustee and possibly a trust protector.  It’s a good idea to review these selections on a regular basis, because change is inevitable.

When parents ponder how to provide for their child with special needs, they sometimes forget one of the key advantages of a special needs trust. Members of the family and friends can make gifts once it has been set up.

If you have funds in an IRA that will be distributed to a special needs trust upon your death, it is usually best to stretch these distributions out over as long a period as possible for income tax purposes.

According to court documents, legendary singer Aretha Franklin did not have a will when she died, meaning there are no specific protections for a son with special needs.

Administrator-managed prepaid debit cards offer beneficiaries of special needs trusts greater independence, but up till now such cards existed in a regulatory gray area.

Guardianship hearings are typically little more than a formality for parents of children with special needs who cannot live independently once they reach age 18. But this was not the case for Texas parents Christy and Mark Zartler.

To help consumers navigate the process of opening newly available savings accounts for families of people with disabilities, the ABLE National Resource Center has launched an education and information campaign called #ABLEtoSave. ...

Through its “Build Your Future” online tool, The Arc helps adults with intellectual or developmental disabilities and their families plan ahead so they can live as independently as possible throughout their lives. ...