Since your eyes met you have spent each and every moment loving, caring for, guiding, educating and protecting your child with special needs. As a parent of a child with special needs, you have been making personal, financial and health care decisions for them since birth.

Another Budget Bill Behind Us

A very strong effort was made this year by the New York State Bar Association (NYSBA) Elder Law Section to combat proposed cuts that would adversely affect our seniors and those with disabilities. The following are two provisions that were in the original proposed Budget Bill.

Part D Recipients Must Repay Mistaken Refunds - Second Court Ruling

A federal appeals court has again ruled that 230,000 Medicare Part D beneficiaries who were erroneously mailed a premium refund do not have the right to apply for a waiver excusing them from repaying the money. Action Alliance of Senior Citizens v. Sebelius (D.C. Cir., No. 09-5191, June 18, 2010).

Surrogate Decision Making Comes To New York

 

The Family Health Care Decisions Act became New York Law on March 16, 2010. The new law covers New York residents (other than the developmentally disabled and the mentally retarded who are covered under a different statute) who lack the capacity to make health care and end of life decisions for themselves, even if such individuals previously had capacity but never expressed their wishes in a health care proxy or living will.  This new law was 17 years in the making.

Regardless of your child's age or special need, as a parent you want nothing more than to make sure you are doing everything to love, nurture, protect and provide for your child. From the moment your eyes first meet, you experience a flood of emotions – hope, love, fear – emotions that envelop your every thought. You wonder, "Will I make the right decisions?" "Am I prepared for this life-long journey?" and "Who will care for my child if I am no longer here?" Where do you begin? You develop a plan.

Every child has needs – a need to be loved, encouraged and cared for. This is probably the most joyful and daunting of experiences a parent will ever know. Unfortunately, a parent handbook is not one of the items included in a "goodie bag" once you leave the hospital after the birth of your child. Every child is special – that first birthday, school step-up ceremony and of course, the cross-over from pre- to teenage years

Inside The Medicaid Look Back Period

When faced with the possibility of penalizing an ill father for paying for the joyous wedding of his daughter, HRA approved the Medicaid application. Recently a wife sought our advice in obtaining Medicaid nursing home care for her ailing husband.

Ten Million Baby Boomers Will Have Alzheimer's

A new report just released by the Alzheimer's Association suggests that ten million baby boomers will have Alzheimer's - that is one in every eight.

I have written a blog post on The Special Needs Planners Blog

In part I, the general principals of special needs trust distributions were discussed, as well as in-kind support and maintenance rules, referred to as ISM. Now, in part II, some of the most common requests for distributions will be discussed.