The institutional reform movements of the 1970’s led to a significant downsizing of large facilities housing people with developmental and other disabilities. Advocates began a concerted effort to establish community-based homes, but faced numerous obstacles, most often from local communities which used zoning and building laws as a barrier to allowing development of smaller group […]
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As part of my job, I attend a lot of conferences and presentations. One of the presentations I attended recently featured a whole myriad of people who had their opportunity to dazzle us at the podium. (Maybe “dazzle” is a lofty goal for a continuing education course. The goal was probably to keep us awake […]
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It’s almost common knowledge that Medicaid imposes a “five-year lookback” to identify gifts made by a Medicaid applicant. In most circumstances, if an individual who is applying for Medicaid has given away their assets within the last five years, Medicaid will penalize that individual, even if they are currently out of funds, by not paying […]
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On January 1, 2019, the Social Security Administration adjusted benefits upward by 2.8 percent. The 2.8 percent cost-of-living adjustment will begin with benefits payable to more than 62 million Social Security beneficiaries. Increased payments to more than 8 million Supplemental Security Income (SSI) beneficiaries brings the maximum monthly benefit from $750 per month in 2018 […]
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Recent changes in the laws have added new complexities and considerations when planning for a person with a disability. Although not all are changes to trust law, many of the programmatic changes impact how we handle special needs estate planning. The most important of these changes include:
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There is a misconception that one should plan on applying for Medicaid only after all the money has been spent on care. Most nursing facilities aren’t going to go out of their way to tell you all of the ways you can actively plan to preserve assets while applying for Medicaid. But there are a […]
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On November 8, 2018, the news broke that disability advocates reached a settlement in the long-running Doe case against the State of Ohio. While the settlement is still subject to court approval, it requires special efforts by the state for students with disabilities to improve test scores and rates of inclusion in 11 school districts. […]
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