Special Needs Trusts

Each public benefits program has restrictions that the special needs trust must comply with in order not to jeopardize the beneficiary's continued eligibility for public benefits. Both Medicaid and SSI are quite restrictive, making it difficult for a beneficiary to...

Academy of Special Needs Planners co-founder Diedre Wachbrit was quoted in a recent Wall Street Journal article on the various tools to ensure that a minor child can receive the benefits of an Individual Retirement Account (IRA).

A parent with a child with special needs should consider buying life insurance to help fund the special needs trust set up for the child's support. What may look like a substantial sum to leave in trust today may run...

Special needs trusts (also known as "supplemental needs" trusts) allow a disabled beneficiary to receive gifts, lawsuit settlements, or other funds and yet not lose his or her eligibility for certain government programs. Such trusts are drafted so that the...

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...

In almost all cases where a parent will leave funds at death to a child with special needs, this should be done in the form of a trust. Trusts set up for the care of a child with special needs...

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...

As with almost every other issue in this year's presidential campaign, Senators Barack Obama and John McCain differ when it comes to their plans for helping people with special needs. We have attempted to give the best possible summary...

Special Needs Answers co-founder Vincent J. Russo was a featured speaker at a recent conference on special needs trusts hosted by the Stetson University College of Law.