Author Archives: Sheri

National Dissemination Center for Children with Disabilities (NICHCY)

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Fact sheets are a great starting point for anyone who is living or working with a child who has a disability. Written specifically to meet the needs of parents and educators, NICHCY’s fact sheets on specific disabilities (e.g., autism spectrum disorders, cerebral palsy, Down syndrome) cover definitions, causes, characteristics, educational considerations and helpful organizations to contact for further information. Most also include available supports (by age group), tips for parents and teachers and a brief story about a child who has that particular disability.

Unfortunately the NICHCY lost its funding in September and will no longer be updating their website. The website is supposed to remain operational until September of 2014.

* The information contained in this Blog is intended for general information and educational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice or an opinion of counsel.

Why Create a Special Needs Trust Before Your Child Turns 18?

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Often, parents of children with special needs don’t consider creating a special needs trust until their child turns 18 or sometimes even later, when the child requires government benefits like Medicaid or Supplemental Security Income (SSI). But special needs trusts are tremendously versatile instruments that can do much more than simply protect a person’s access to government benefits. There are several reasons why parents don’t have to wait until their child turns 18 to create a special needs trust for the child’s benefit.

Estate planning. The number one reason to create a special needs trust before a child turns 18 is the same reason parents of children without special needs should have an estate plan — to provide stability and security for their family members should something happen to them. Creating a special needs trust before a child needs it ensures that the trust is there when it is needed, regardless of what happens to the trust’s creators. If parents of a child with special needs unexpectedly pass away having created a special needs trust, their estates will be held for the benefit of their child with special needs in a way that offers maximum flexibility for the child.

Gifts. Parents may want to establish a special needs trust for their minor child so that the child’s relatives can fund it with gifts. In fact, this may be preferred, because the special needs trust will provide proper management of those assets. Older relatives intending to leave an inheritance for a child with special needs can also give the bequest directly to the trust. Planning ahead guarantees that if the child requires government benefits when he is older, he will not have large amounts of money in his name that could affect his eligibility.

Life insurance. Sometimes, parents of a child with special needs want to purchase a life insurance policy that will help pay for their child’s care long after they are gone. Properly created special needs trusts can hold life insurance policies and manage the proceeds from those policies once the parents have died. Life insurance trusts are also good ways for parents with larger estates to reduce their estate tax liability. The earlier parents start funding the life insurance policy, the greater the benefit for their child with special needs. Since this funding can begin well before a child turns 18, it makes sense to create a special needs trust to hold the policy and its proceeds, even though the child is not yet receiving government benefits.

Home ownership. Special needs trusts can own homes for people with special needs, reducing the risks of placing property into the hands of someone who may not be able to properly maintain a home.

Care management. These trusts can provide care management as well as a structure for family involvement in the daily activities of a person with special needs. In addition, experienced special needs trustees serve as great resources for families seeking additional care options for their children.

Planning early and constantly updating and improving a special needs trust can be the difference between a moderately useful trust and an incredibly effective one. In most cases, the trust will be unfunded during the parents’ lives, whether the child is over or under age 18, but having it available can be important for the reasons outlined above. A qualified special needs planner can help parents of younger children create and manage a suitable special needs trust that works for their child before, and after, the child turns 18.

* The information contained in this Blog is intended for general information and educational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice or an opinion of counsel.

Representative Payees

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The Social Security Administration (SSA) manages the two largest government benefit programs for people with special needs, Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) and Supplemental Security Income (SSI). Many of the people with special needs who receive these benefits are qualified to manage their own money and can make other financial decisions for themselves. The SSA sends these people their own benefit check each month.

However, when a person with special needs cannot make important financial decisions, either because of her disability or because she has not reached the age of majority, the SSA sends the benefits directly to a third party, known as a representative payee, who is charged with managing the funds for the beneficiary. When a parent or caregiver signs up to be a representative payee, they often do not take the time to truly explore what they are getting into, which could lead to trouble down the road. Here are a few key things to remember about being a representative payee.

It’s Not Your Money

The funds you receive are the beneficiary’s funds, not yours. When you agree to be a representative payee, you are responsible for managing the beneficiary’s money for their benefit, not yours. In almost all cases, this means that you are not allowed to charge a fee to be a representative payee. It’s easy to lose track of the beneficiary’s funds, especially when family finances are mixed together. As a representative payee, you must ensure that the monthly payments get to, and are used for, the beneficiary and no one else.

Don’t Commingle

The best way to ensure that the beneficiary’s funds are used for their benefit is to segregate the funds in a separate bank account. This account should reflect the beneficiary’s ownership of the funds, and should not be a joint account with the representative payee as the other owner. Instead, the bank account should be titled in the name of the beneficiary, with the representative payee noted on the account, i.e., “Your name, as representative payee for your child’s name.” Obviously, this can be difficult when you are serving as the representative payee for a minor child who lives with you. In these cases, the SSA says that the child should have his own savings account, even if most of his benefits are being spent out of the family’s checking account.

File Your Representative Payee Report

The SSA requires that a representative payee file an annual accounting called the Representative Payee Report. This report details what you, as the representative payee, have done with the beneficiary’s funds during the previous year. If you have kept accurate records of the beneficiary’s funds over the course of the year, the report will be very easy to fill out. Commingling funds, or not keeping accurate records of expenditures, can lead to an incredible headache when it comes time to file the report. Not filing the report, on the other hand, could lead to your removal as representative payee.

Know the SSI Rules

If you are serving as a representative payee for a person receiving SSI benefits, your job is made even more difficult by the SSI program’s stringent income and asset rules. For instance, SSI beneficiaries can have only $2,000 in their name in order to be eligible for benefits. As representative payee, you must make sure that you know the rules regarding asset accumulation and their effect on the beneficiary. You must also deal with any lump-sum payments that the beneficiary may receive as “past due” SSI benefits, which have their own set of rules. In a worse-case scenario, not knowing the rules can lead to loss of benefits and the possibility of overpayments that the beneficiary must repay from her own funds.

Get Help

As you can see, being a representative payee is a difficult job that should not be undertaken lightly. The SSA offers information for representative payees at ssa.gov, but the best way to make sure that you have a handle on your duties is to speak with a qualified special needs planner, who can explain the intricacies of the system and give you tips that fit your particular family member.

* The information contained in this Blog is intended for general information and educational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice or an opinion of counsel.

October is National Special Needs Law Month

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levitra Bonuses levitra BonusesIn honor of National Special Needs Law Month, Sugai & Sudweeks will publish a series of blogs on Special Needs topics. We hope that you will find them useful and informative.

* The information contained in this Blog is intended for general information and educational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice or an opinion of counsel.

Three Essential Documents for Parents of Children with Special Needs

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If your child has special needs, a standard estate plan will, trust, power of attorney, and health care proxy may not be adequate for your family. If your child will not be able to support herself or live independently as an adult, you need to make special provision for her in your estate plan. Here are three must-have documents:

Special Needs Trust. Instead of leaving your estate directly to a disabled child, the funds should be left in a specially-drafted trust for the child’s benefit. This will ensure that the funds are properly managed for the child’s lifetime. And provided that the trust is properly administered, the trust funds will not be countable, which helps to preserve your child’s eligibility for public benefits such as SSI and Medicaid.

Guardianship Nomination. Your will should include a guardianship nomination for all of your minor children. But when your child turns 18, she is considered to be an adult by law, even if her disabilities are very severe. Taking the time to select a guardian for your disabled child reduces stress and uncertainty for other family members after your death: the person you nominate as guardian will typically be given preference by the Court.

Letter of Intent. This is a non-binding document that captures vital information about your child for future caregivers and trustees. It can include information about your child’s routines, preferences, medical history, allergies, and so on. As parents, you have gathered a lifetimes worth of information about your child information that will be invaluable to your child’s future caregivers. You can ask your attorney to keep a copy of the Letter of Intent with your other estate planning documents.

* The information contained in this Blog is intended for general information and educational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice or an opinion of counsel.

The Funeral Rule

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The Funeral Rule, enforced by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), makes it possible for you to choose only those goods and services you want or need and to pay only for those you select, whether you are making arrangements when a death occurs or in advance. The Rule allows you to compare prices among funeral homes, and makes it possible for you to select the funeral arrangements you want at the home you use. (The Rule does not apply to third-party sellers, such as casket and monument dealers, or to cemeteries that lack an on-site funeral home.)

Your Rights Under the Funeral Rule

The Funeral Rule gives you the right to:

  • Buy only the funeral arrangements you want. You have the right to buy separate goods (such as caskets) and services (such as embalming or a memorial service). You do not have to accept a package that may include items you do not want.
  • Get price information on the telephone. Funeral directors must give you price information on the telephone if you ask for it. You don’t have to give them your name, address, or telephone number first. Although they are not required to do so, many funeral homes mail their price lists, and some post them online.
  • Get a written, itemized price list when you visit a funeral home. The funeral home must give you a General Price List (GPL) that is yours to keep. It lists all the items and services the home offers, and the cost of each one.
  • See a written casket price list before you see the actual caskets. Sometimes, detailed casket price information is included on the funeral home’s GPL. More often, though, it’s provided on a separate casket price list. Get the price information before you see the caskets, so that you can ask about lower-priced products that may not be on display.
  • See a written outer burial container price list. Outer burial containers are not required by state law anywhere in the U.S., but many cemeteries require them to prevent the grave from caving in. If the funeral home sells containers, but doesn’t list their prices on the GPL, you have the right to look at a separate container price list before you see the containers. If you don’t see the lower-priced containers listed, ask about them.
  • Receive a written statement after you decide what you want, and before you pay. It should show exactly what you are buying and the cost of each item. The funeral home must give you a statement listing every good and service you have selected, the price of each, and the total cost immediately after you make the arrangements.
  • Get an explanation in the written statement from the funeral home that describes any legal cemetery or crematory requirement that requires you to buy any funeral goods or services.
  • Use an “alternative container” instead of a casket for cremation. No state or local law requires the use of a casket for cremation. A funeral home that offers cremations must tell you that alternative containers are available, and must make them available. They might be made of unfinished wood, pressed wood, fiberboard, or cardboard.
  • Provide the funeral home with a casket or urn you buy elsewhere. The funeral provider cannot refuse to handle a casket or urn you bought online, at a local casket store, or somewhere else — or charge you a fee to do it. The funeral home cannot require you to be there when the casket or urn is delivered to them.
  • Make funeral arrangements without embalming. No state law requires routine embalming for every death. Some states require embalming or refrigeration if the body is not buried or cremated within a certain time; some states don’t require it at all. In most cases, refrigeration is an acceptable alternative. In addition, you may choose services like direct cremation and immediate burial, which don’t require any form of preservation. Many funeral homes have a policy requiring embalming if the body is to be publicly viewed, but this is not required by law in most states. Ask if the funeral home offers private family viewing without embalming. If some form of preservation is a practical necessity, ask the funeral home if refrigeration is available.

* The information contained in this Blog is intended for general information and educational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice or an opinion of counsel.

Home Ownership for People With Special Needs

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People with special needs often require housing that accommodates their lifestyle. In many cases, group living facilities are called for, with the group environment providing stability and support. But in other cases, a person with special needs needs a very specific type of housing, designed particularly for her. Or, it may simply make sense for a person with special needs to have a place of her own. The rental market is clearly not equipped to provide the specific accommodations many individuals with special needs require. Fortunately, there are many ways to provide private housing for a person with special needs without compromising the majority of her means-based government benefits.

The first step when thinking about purchasing a home for a person with special needs is to decide whether the home should be held in trust or given to the resident to own in her own name. Since many people with special needs are perfectly capable of managing their own property, both Supplemental Security Income (SSI) and Medicaid regulations permit beneficiaries to own their own home without it counting as an asset for purposes of qualifying for or maintaining benefits (although there may be specific limits on the value of the home a beneficiary owns, which vary by state). Home ownership also allows increased access to credit, binds a person with special needs with their community, and provides a deep sense of self-worth.

But home ownership comes with many responsibilities, and frequently families choose to place a home into a special needs trust (SNT) instead of giving it to a person with special needs. Putting the home in a trust protects the home from a trust beneficiary’s creditors, who may be able to go after the equity in the home if it were owned by the beneficiary outright. Placing the home in trust also allows for flexibility if the home needs to be sold quickly, since the proceeds are retained by the trust. If a homeowner with special needs sells his own home, he would have to quickly purchase a new one for the same price or transfer the proceeds into a different kind of special needs trust (called a “first-party trust,” with a government payback provision) in order to maintain access to government benefits. Finally, some people with special needs, especially those suffering from mental illnesses that make it hard for them manage property or make them especially likely to be taken advantage of, should simply not own property in their own name.

Once the decision is made about who owns the home, the next step is determining how the home should be purchased. This decision depends on the finances of those buying the home and the government benefits being received by the resident. When a home is purchased outright (either by a trust or by a beneficiary’s family, who then gives the home to the resident), SSI rules dictate that the purchase counts as in-kind support and maintenance for the month of purchase only. Under the complicated restrictions, this means that an SSI beneficiary could lose up to about $244 (in 2013) of her benefit for one month. If the beneficiary’s monthly SSI award is reduced to zero by this reduction, she could lose her benefits, and accompanying health care, for the month of the gift. She could then regain eligibility at the conclusion of the month.

On the other hand, if the home is purchased through some combination of a down payment and a mortgage being paid by the trust or by family members, then the resident’s SSI award will be reduced by approximately $244 during each month that someone other than the beneficiary pays the mortgage. However, it does not matter if the mortgage payment is very large — the beneficiary still loses approximately $244 monthly. While this amount usually pales in comparison to the benefits of living in a home of one’s own, should a beneficiary receive an SSI award that is less than $244 a month before the purchase of the home, he will lose his SSI benefit because his award is reduced to zero by the in-kind mortgage payment. Because the mortgage payments will presumably be ongoing, this loss of SSI and health care benefits could be permanent, unlike the one-time loss of benefits if the home is purchased outright. Since other sources of income can also affect an SSI award, it is extremely important that families work with a qualified special needs planner to make sure that they are not going to compromise important benefits by purchasing the home.

After the home is purchased, maintenance becomes key. Under SSI regulations, payment of many household expenses for a beneficiary counts against her SSI benefit. This applies even if a trust owns the home the beneficiary is living in. For example, if the trust pays for the home’s water or electric bill, the SSA will deduct the same (up to?) $244 from a beneficiary’s award. So if a trust owns the home outright and manages to avoid paying a mortgage, the beneficiary can still incur a penalty should the trust pay for the upkeep of the home, and the same concerns regarding benefits apply. There is one important exception to these restrictions – a trust can pay for home improvements without penalty because these are not typical household expenses expected to be provided by a beneficiary.

The rules governing home ownership may seem complex, but the rewards are many and well worth exploring with a qualified special needs planner.

Medical Identity Theft

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Not only do you need to protect your identity from identity theft for your finances, now you need to consider protecting your medical identity.  A thief may use your name or health insurance numbers to see a doctor, get prescription drugs, file claims with your insurance provider, or get other care. If the thief’s health information is mixed with yours, your treatment, insurance and payment records, and credit report may be affected.

If you see signs of medical identity theft, order copies of your records and check for mistakes. You have the right to see your records and have mistakes corrected.

Detecting Medical Identity Theft

Read your medical and insurance statements regularly and completely. They can show warning signs of identity theft. Read the Explanation of Benefits (EOB) statement or Medicare Summary Notice that your health plan sends after treatment. Check the name of the provider, the date of service, and the service provided. Do the claims paid match the care you received? If you see a mistake, contact your health plan and report the problem.

Other signs of medical identity theft include:

a bill for medical services you didn’t receive

a call from a debt collector about a medical debt you don’t owe

medical collection notices on your credit report that you don’t recognize

a notice from your health plan saying you reached your benefit limit

a denial of insurance because your medical records show a condition you don’t have.

Correcting Mistakes in Your Medical Records

If you know a thief used your medical information, get copies of your records. Federal law gives you the right to know what’s in your medical files. Check them for errors. Contact each doctor, clinic, hospital, pharmacy, laboratory, health plan, and location where a thief may have used your information. For example, if a thief got a prescription in your name, ask for records from the health care provider who wrote the prescription and the pharmacy that filled it.

You may need to pay for copies of your records. If you know when the thief used your information, ask for records from just that time. Keep copies of your postal and email correspondence, and a record of your phone calls, conversations and activities with your health plan and medical providers.

A provider might refuse to give you copies of your medical or billing records because it thinks that would violate the identity thief’s privacy rights. The fact is, you have the right to know what’s in your file. If a provider denies your request for your records, you have a right to appeal. Contact the person the provider lists in its Notice of Privacy Practices, the patient representative, or the ombudsman. Explain the situation and ask for your file. If the provider refuses to provide your records within 30 days of your written request, you may complain to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Office for Civil Rights.

 Protecting Your Medical Information

Your medical and insurance information are valuable to identity thieves.

Be wary if someone offers you “free” health services or products, but requires you to provide your health plan ID number. Medical identity thieves may pretend to work for an insurance company, doctors’ offices, clinic, or pharmacy to try to trick you into revealing sensitive information.

Don’t share medical or insurance information by phone or email unless you initiated the contact and know who you’re dealing with.

Keep paper and electronic copies of your medical and health insurance records in a safe place. Shred outdated health insurance forms, prescription and physician statements, and the labels from prescription bottles before you throw them out.

Before you provide sensitive personal information to a website that asks for your Social Security number, insurance account numbers, or details about your health, find out why it’s needed, how it will be kept safe, whether it will be shared, and with whom. Read the Privacy Policy on the website.

If you decide to share your information online, look for a lock icon on the browser’s status bar or a URL that begins “https:” the “s” is for secure.

To read more about protecting yourself from Medical Identity theft and what to do if you find out that you Medical identity has been stolen go to the Federal Trade Commission Website.

* The information contained in this Blog is intended for general information and educational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice or an opinion of counsel.

American College of Obstetricians (ACOG) Recommends Screening Women For Elder Abuse

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peterclavercenter.org viagra generikaElder abuse is a prevalent issue and needs to be screened for in women aged 60 years and older during preventive health care visits, according to a Committee Opinion published in the July issue of Obstetrics & Gynecology. The ACOG Committee on Health Care for Underserved Women reviewed published literature and recommendations regarding the prevalence and identification of abuse in women, particularly in older women.

The following are included in ACOG’s recommendations: screen all patients older than 60 years for signs and symptoms of elder abuse, starting with open-ended questions and progressing to more specific questions; advocate for a safe environment for all aging women; follow individual state guidelines for reporting elder abuse to Adult Protection Services; provide education regarding elder abuse to patients, family, caregivers, and health care providers; and encourage research on elder abuse and mistreatment. “Screening, education, and policy change are the best interventions for the prevention of elder abuse,” the authors write. “Early identification and prompt referral should be part of the preventive health care visit for women aged 60 years and older.”

Source/more: Health Day Physician’s Briefing

* The information contained in this Blog is intended for general information and educational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice or an opinion of counsel.

The Oldest Man Who Ever Lived

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Jiroemon Kimura, who passed away at the remarkable age of 116 years 54 days, held a record that few of us ever have the chance of achieving: the world’s oldest living person. Perhaps more significantly, though, Kimura-san achieved an even rarer accolade when, on December 28, 2012, he became the oldest man who ever lived. As the oldest male whose age could be reliably determined, Kimura succeeded Denmark’s Thomas Peter Thorvald Kristian Ferdinand “Christian” Mortensen, who reached 115 years 252 days in April 1988, and became the first man to ever exceed 116 years.

Kimura was born in 1897, the same year as authors Enid Blyton and William Faulkner, aviator Amelia Earhart, and jazz musician Fletcher Henderson. In the same year, Queen Victoria celebrated her 60th anniversary on the British throne, and William McKinley became President of the United States. The retired postal worker is one of the few men known to have lived across three centuries, and would have seen immense social and technological advances including the advent of motor vehicles, television, powered flight, space travel and the internet, and seen the accession of six U.K. monarchs, five Emperors of Japan, and 20 U.S. Presidents.

Only seven people are known to have ever reached the age of 116 years. Of these, only four went on to celebrate their 117th birthday, all of them women. Among them was Jeanne Louise Calment of France, who reached the record age of 122 years 164 days – the oldest person whose age has been fully authenticated.

Source: EPA/Guinness Book of World Records

* The information contained in this Blog is intended for general information and educational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice or an opinion of counsel.