All Are Not Created Equal

All Are Not Created Equal

Date: January 1, 2012 We expect that everyone who reads this Newsletter is familiar with the concept of a “Special Needs Trust.” This type of trust is specifically designed to hold money for individuals with disabilities who participate in any number of means tested...
All Are Not Created Equal

The Good, The Bad and The Ugly

Date: December 15, 2011 In our April edition of the Special Needs Estate Planner, Snakes in the Grass, we told our readers about changes to the Medicaid program that were anticipated by the passage of the 2011-2012 New York State budget. Since that date, the New York...
All Are Not Created Equal

‘Tis That Time of The Year…

Date: November 1, 2011 If you have been reading The Special Needs Estate Planner since its debut in 2004, then you know that we have never repeated an issue. We may sometimes be slow in getting them “to print,” but we always write them from scratch. Of course, in the...
All Are Not Created Equal

Tip O’Neil Would Certainly Agree

Date: September 1, 2011 The second problem with “unfiltered” information from the internet lies in the fact that the law governing Special Needs Estate Planning in general, and Special Needs Trusts in particular, varies greatly from state to state, and in some cases...
All Are Not Created Equal

A Rose is a Rose… What it means to have a “Disability”

Date: February 15, 2011 We often say that the word “disability” means different things in different contexts. Disabilities can be physical in nature, cognitive in nature, or some combination thereof. Some individuals with disabilities have guardians; some don’t. Some...