Planning for Life

By Harry S. Margolis

Trusts created for individuals with special needs generally fall into two broad categories: those created with the beneficiary's own funds, often from the proceeds of a personal injury settlement, and those funded by third parties, often by parents and grandparents. The tax treatment of the two trusts is somewhat different.

By Harry S. Margolis

We have prepared a handout to assist beneficiaries of Supplemental Security Income and other public benefits programs to determine whether they're better off using ABLE accounts or special needs trusts, or both.

Both ABLE accounts and SNTs permit the beneficiary to maintain eligibility for public benefits programs will being the beneficiary of funds held in reserve, but both also have their advantages and drawbacks. Here are a few of them:

By Harry S. Margolis

ABLE accounts were created by the Achieving a Better Life Experience Act of 2014 as an alternative to special needs trusts and to share the benefits of 529 plans for people who are unlikely to pursue higher education. They only go part way towards those goals but nevertheless can be very useful in providing flexibility around very strict public benefit rules, especially those of the Supplemental Security Income (SSI) program.

By Harry S. Margolis

In determining eligibility for MassHealth and Supplemental Security Income (SSI), the state and federal agencies treat self-settled trusts -- those created by the applicant for benefit -- and third-party trusts -- those created by someone else -- entirely differently. The assets held in a self-settled trust are considered available to the applicant for benefits to the extent the trustee has discretion to distribute them to the applicant or to use them for her benefit. The assets of a third-party trust are only considered available to the extent the trustee actually distributes them to or uses them for the applicant for benefits.

These rules track the rules for creditors. With some exceptions, creditors can gain access to assets in trusts created by the debtor and cannot gain access to trusts created by someone else for the benefit of the debtor. The issue in the case of Calhoun, et al. v. Rawlins (93 Mass. App. Ct. 458, June 27, 2018) is whether a trust created by one divorcing spouse for the benefit of the other spouse is protected from the creditors of the beneficiary spouse. This has significance for special needs planning because it's not unusual for special needs trust to be created in the context of divorce.

By Harry S. Margolis

As part of the 21^st Century Cures Act which passed last week, Congress  has finally corrected a glitch in the law dating back to 1993. Back then, Congress authorized the creation of so-called (d)(4)(A) trusts which permit people with disabilities under age 65 to shelter funds and still qualify for Medicaid (MassHealth in Massachusetts) and Supplemental Security Income. A quirk in the law has required these trusts to be created by a parent, grandparent, guardian or court, even if the beneficiary is competent to create the trust herself. This has limited the availability of these trusts and required expensive proceedings in court which have often delayed eligibility for vital public benefits.

By Harry S. Margolis

A trust is a legal entity that permits one or more people -- the "trustee" or "trustees" -- to manage property for the benefit of other people -- the "beneficiaries." The third actor in a trust is the person who creates it -- the "grantor" or "donor." To confuse things a bit further the same person can be a grantor, trustee and beneficiary, but he can't be the only one in all three roles. And the property in the trust can be just about anything you can own -- real estate, bank accounts, investments, or artwork.

On the day your intellectually disabled child turns 18, give yourself a birthday present – put him or her on the Section 8 waiting list.  The Section 8 housing choice voucher program is the federal government's major program for assisting very low-income families, the elderly, and the disabled to afford decent, safe, and sanitary housing in the private market. In the Boston area, it usually takes eight to ten years to get a voucher, starting from the day you first submit the pre-application. 

Once a person obtains a voucher, the federal government will pay part of his or her rent for life. So the sooner your child is on the list, the better.

By Harry S. Margolis

Some parents of children with special needs choose to disinherit such children for a number of reasons. They recognize that leaving funds directly to such children (who very well may be adults now) could cause a number difficulties. They may lose eligibility for important public benefits, such as Supplemental Security Income, MassHealth or subsidized housing. In many instances, their children would not be able to manage the funds and would be susceptible to losing the funds to financial predators or simply bad decision-making. Other parents reason that their other children will take care of the child with special needs or that the child has no need of funds since public programs are providing for her adequately.