This issue of The Voice® is written by SNA member Carol Wessels of Wessels & Liebau, LLC in Mequon, Wisconsin. The firm specializes in long-term care planning, estate planning for parents of special needs children, special needs trusts, guardianship and more.
Every parent experiences some anxiety as they prepare to send their child to college, but for parents of children with disabilities, those anxious feelings can grow exponentially. We are sharing some helpful tips to help allay your nerves and ease the transition process for both you and your child.
On the heels of a child with special needs’ biggest milestones becoming an adult at eighteen (18) comes the next and arguably more challenging milestone – life after turning twenty-two (22). What services end? What do parents and guardians need to know? To help prepare for this transition, we have highlighted some of the top considerations.
This issue of The Voice® was written by SNA member Jacob Menashe of Hickman Menashe, P.S. in Lynnwood and Bellevue, Washington. Serving clients in the greater Snohomish and King County areas and throughout Washington, the firm works with their clients on legal concerns related to elder law and estate planning. Jacob was assisted by a former associate of his firm, Sage Graves Slugić, now practicing at Graunke Ayoub Law in Seattle, Washington.
The eighteenth birthday of a child with special needs marks the beginning of significant changes regarding the benefits and services they can receive. While there are many things to consider, we have outlined the top five to help you prepare for your child’s major milestone.
This issue of The Voice® was written by SNA member Heather Conder, and her colleague Evan Barrett, who both work in the law firm of SNA member Charlene Quade, Esq. of C.K. Quade Law, PLLC. The firm was created with the desire to advocate for families and loved ones caring for children and adults with special needs. Located in Boise, Idaho, the practice serves clients in Idaho.
The Voice® is prepared and distributed by the Special Needs Alliance (SNA). This installment was written by a consortium of members of the SNA’s Public Policy Committee. The Public Policy Committee through our public policy consultant, Brian Lindberg, work with members of Congress and congressional staff to educate and advocate on issues of importance to individuals with disabilities and their families. The Public Policy Committee will author periodic issues of the The Voice® to introduce our readers to the Public Policy efforts the SNA is directly involved in.
When considering moving to another jurisdiction, a guardian will need to know what will be required by both the original state and the new state. Read more in this issue of The Voice.
This post was authored by attorney Tara Anne Pleat, CELA of Wilcenski & Pleat PLLC, Clifton Park, NY. Tara focuses her practice in the areas of special needs estate planning and administration, traditional estate planning and administration, and long-term care planning. She has been a SNA member since 2010. With the pandemic almost in the [...]
The Voice® is the e-mail newsletter of the Special Needs Alliance. This installment was written by Sandra L. Smith, CELA, a partner with the firm of Oast & Taylor in Virginia Beach, Virginia. She is certified as an elder law attorney (CELA) by the National Elder Law Foundation and is a 20-year veteran of the U.S. Air Force.
The Voice® is the e-mail newsletter of the Special Needs Alliance. This installment was written by Special Needs Alliance member Edward Wilcenski, Esq., a founding partner of the law firm of Wilcenski & Pleat PLLC in Clifton Park, New York. He practices in the areas of Special Needs Planning, Elder Law, and Trust and Estate Planning and Administration. Ed is a past President of the Special Needs Alliance and writes and lectures frequently on issues affecting individuals with disabilities and their families.
When life is busy, planning ahead can be difficult. For those who are caring for a loved one with a disability there is so much to do in the present that planning for the future can be difficult and overwhelming. If a court has determined that the loved one lacks the capacity to make decisions [...]
The Voice is the e-mail newsletter of the Special Needs Alliance. This installment was written by Special Needs Alliance member Edward Wilcenski, Esq., a founding partner of the law firm of Wilcenski & Pleat, PLLC in Clifton Park, New York. He practices in the areas of Special Needs Planning, Elder Law, and Trust and Estate Planning and Administration. Ed is a past President of the Special Needs Alliance, and writes and lectures frequently on issues affecting individuals with disabilities and their families
Long-time readers of The Voice know that we rarely repeat an issue. In the world of disability there are many important topics to choose from, so the challenge has really been in deciding which topics are of most interest to our readers rather than finding something interesting in the first place. Because the Voice has many new readers each year, we know that many of our current readers may have missed this article when it first appeared in November of 2010. With this in mind, we’ve decided to reprint this article written by Edward V. Wilcenski, Esq. hoping that it may catch newer readers before they make their final decisions on how to make holiday gifts to their family members and friends with disabilities.
This edition of the Voice was written by Mark Todd Johnson, CELA. Mark is a partner at Johnson Teigen, LLC in Fitchburg, Wisconsin. The law firm serves clients of all ages and circumstances with wills, trusts, powers of attorney, special needs planning and trusts, long-term care planning (including Medicaid), and guardianships. He is the 2019-2020 president of the Wisconsin Chapter of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys.
This post was written by former Special Needs Alliance president Katherine N. Barr, Esq., a member of Sirote & Permutt’s Private Clients, Trusts and Estates Practice Group, Birmingham, Alabama. Much of her practice involves special needs planning, through which she assists clients in providing for a family member in a way that does not jeopardize government benefits. She is a fellow of the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel (ACTEC) and has been cited in The Best Lawyers in America©.
By Sage C. Hart, Esq. High school graduation is a milestone for any student, but when a young adult has disabilities, it ushers in a period of even greater change. While attending public school, students with special needs are legally entitled to a wide array of services, but once they leave (by the age of [...]
The Voice is the e-mail newsletter of The Special Needs Alliance. This installment was written by Special Needs Alliance member Timothy Rigby, Esq., who practices with Hart, Southworth & Witsman in Springfield, Illinois. The firm’s focus is estate planning and transactional matters, and Tim concentrates his practice in the areas of estate planning and special needs planning.
By Scott Suzuki, Esq. Laws have to apply to everyone and this rigid standard can cause problems when dealing with the issue of "legal capacity," because capacity can’t be measured by a single standard. Someone may be perfectly capable of managing some daily tasks but may need assistance with others. For example, a person may [...]
The Voice is the e-mail newsletter of The Special Needs Alliance. This installment was written by Special Needs Alliance member Hyman Darling, Esq., a partner in the Springfield, Massachusetts, firm of Bacon Wilson, P.C. Mr. Darling concentrates his practice in estate planning, elder law, probate, special needs and guardianships/conservatorships. Before joining Bacon Wilson, he was a trust officer for several years. A frequent speaker for civic and charitable organizations, he serves on the American Cancer Society National Professional Advisory Committee and the boards of several western Massachusetts nonprofit organizations for persons with disabilities. He serves on the board of directors and has served as Secretary of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys (NAELA).
The Voice is the e-mail newsletter of The Special Needs Alliance. This installment was written by Special Needs Alliance member Laurie Hanson, Esq., a shareholder in the Minneapolis, Minnesota, elder law firm of Long, Reher & Hanson, P.A. with the help of her law clerk, Christine Jensen. The firm's focus is to provide positive strategies for individuals who are aging or living with disabilities to help them live as independently as possible for as long as possible. Laurie concentrates her practice exclusively in the areas of government benefit eligibility, special needs trusts, trust and public benefit litigation, estate planning, and planning for incapacity. She is the past president of the Elder Law Section of the Minnesota State Bar Association and is repeatedly named a super lawyer in the field of elder law by her peers.