Special Needs Trusts

Unless you are a CPA, you should never prepare an income tax return for a special needs trust. Instead, call your special needs planner to discuss what needs to be done.

A recent case from New Jersey should make you think twice about waiting to finalize that estate plan that you have been meaning to get to.

In some cases a parent or family member can handle the job of trustee of a special needs trust perfectly well, but in other cases the task can simply become overwhelming. Here are some warning signs that a professional trustee...

There are plenty of advice books on the market for parents of children with special needs, but Reflections from a Different Journey takes a different approach, collecting wisdom for parents of children with special needs from the source: adults who...

Parents and grandparents of people with special needs have a unique opportunity to make life much easier for their children or grandchildren by creating a first-party special needs trust while they are still living.

If an applicant for Supplemental Security Income (SSI), a needs-based federal disability benefit, transfers assets out of her name prior to applying for benefits, she could face a stiff transfer penalty that would delay receipt of often vital services.

Americans are living longer than they did in years past, especially those with special needs. According to one count, 480,000 adults with mental retardation are living with parents who are 60 or older.  When these parents can no longer care...

Where is your son going to live when he can no longer live with you? Will he move in with a sibling? Or into a group home? Who will make the decision? Who will monitor the care he receives? It's...

You may have heard that special needs trusts are required to reimburse the government for Medicaid expenses incurred by the trust's beneficiary when she passes away, and, in some cases, this is true. But not all special needs trusts are...