Joseph Gilsoul

People who receive certain government benefits may be penalized for getting married and living with their spouses. Here\’s how.

If your child has special needs, a standard estate plan will, trust, power of attorney, and health care proxy may not be adequate for your family. Here are three must-have documents

Over the past several years, crowdfunding and personal fundraising have become popular ways to raise money for people in need.  Unfortunately, when crowdfunding sites are established for people with special needs who are receiving disability or medical benefits, even with the best of intentions, things can go wrong.

Two years after the passage of the Achieving a Better Life Experience (ABLE) Act, four states — Florida, Nebraska, Ohio and Tennessee – have ABLE plans up and running, and all but Florida allow out-of-state beneficiaries to open accounts.

The 5th Circuit Court of Appeals rules that a personal injury plaintiff is not entitled to vacate a judgment setting up a special needs trust to hold the proceeds from his settlement because he should have appealed the court order setting up the trust instead.  Newsome v. National Casualty Company (5th Cir., No. 15-30573, Aug. 11, 2016).

A Delaware trial court refuses to overturn a jury\’s verdict or award a new trial in the case of a trustee convicted of stealing trust funds, finding that a reasonable jury could have found that nearly $300,000 in unaccounted for cash withdrawals from the trust were purloined by the trustee.  State v. Wilson (Del.Super.Ct., No. 1507000321, July 14, 2016).

The 4th Circuit Court of Appeals finds that a federal district court erred when it significantly reduced the attorneys’ fees sought by the lawyers for a woman with disabilities whose case resulted in the right to file 1983 claims based on the state\’s failure to provide Medicaid waiver services within a reasonable time.  Doe v. Kidd (4th Cir., Nos. 14-428, 14-429, 15-1022, 15-1024 and 15-1026, Aug. 9, 2016).

A South Carolina appeals court rules that the ex-husband of a special needs trust beneficiary was not prejudiced when, in the middle of a trial of his action to remove the trustees, the probate court added the beneficiary as a party.  In Re: The Abbie Dorn Special Needs Trust (S.C. App. Ct., No. 2015-000659, Aug. 3, 2016).

Massachusetts’ highest court rules that an interest in an irrevocable, discretionary trust with an open class of beneficiaries is not subject to equitable division in one of the beneficiary\’s divorce proceedings.  Pfannenstiehl v. Pfannenstiehl (Mass., SJC-12031, Aug. 4, 2016).

For a variety of reasons, people with special needs are more likely to suffer physical, mental and financial abuse than are others. Here are some ways to prevent and recognize abuse.