A Mixed Bag in Virginia: Federal Law Prohibits 2011 Social Security Increases, but Federal Agency Grants Millions to Disadvantaged Groups

As Halloween approaches this year, I can't help but draw an analogy between the nights I spent meandering my neighborhood as a kid looking for handouts, and our current economic times.  I recall my grade-school friends and I … [Read more...]

Funding a Special Needs Trust: How Much is Enough?

As a parent or guardian, you want to ensure that your child with special needs will remain financially secure even when you are no longer there to provide support. Given the significant, ongoing expenses involved in your child’s … [Read more...]

IRA Distributions to Third-Party Special Needs Trusts: Avoiding the ‘Five-Year Rule’

For many parents, the majority of their savings is held in some kind of a retirement account, often an Individual Retirement Account (IRA). At age 70 ½, an IRA account holder faces the Required Beginning Date, when he or she must … [Read more...]

What Expenses Can’t a Special Needs Trust Pay For?

Special needs trusts are designed to supplement, not replace, the kind of basic support provided by government programs like Medicaid and Supplemental Security Income (SSI). Special needs trusts pay for comforts and luxuries -- … [Read more...]

Law Brightens the Employment Picture for Those with Special Needs

The National Collaborative on Workforce and Disability has found that only 26 percent of working-age adults with disabilities are employed either in a job or their own businesses. While a combination of federal initiatives, … [Read more...]

Making Decisions for An Adult Special Needs Child

Parents of children with special needs must be concerned with ensuring that medical and financial decisions will continue to be made in the child’s best interest once the child reaches age 18 – the age of legal capacity. In most … [Read more...]

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