Estate Planning

In many cases, the best way to provide monetary assistance to your loved one during the holidays is through contributions to a special needs trust. As an added bonus, a strange glitch in the tax code may make 2010...

Last month we discussed some initial things that every trustee of a special needs trust should do upon learning that the primary beneficiary has passed away. Now, we'll explore additional steps to consider when closing out the trust.

When you add a special needs trust to a financial aid calculation, things can get complicated because the regulations governing federal financial aid don't do a very good job of distinguishing special needs trusts from other types of trusts.

We at the Academy of Special Needs Planners (ASNP) are pleased to announce that California special needs planning attorney Kevin Urbatsch has joined our Advisory Board.

A friend or relative should never sign anything for a person who lacks capacity unless he has authority to act on behalf of the incapacitated person.

One type of expense that a special needs trust has been able to cover is reimbursing family members for their costs when they travel to visit the trust beneficiary (the person with special needs). Due to a recent rule...

If you don't know one trustee who knows all there is to know about caring for a person with special needs, you may want to consider setting up a care committee for your special needs trust.

One question that typically comes up when an attorney is drafting a special needs trust for a beneficiary whose disability may end at some point is whether the attorney can write a clause into the special needs trust stating that...