Reversing a lower court, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit rules that a state housing authority cannot count distributions from a special needs trust funded by a settlement as income because the payments would not be considered income had the settlement been taken as a lump sum. DeCambre v. Brookline Housing Authority (1st Cir., Nos. 15-1458, 15-1515, June 14, 2016).
The Supreme Court of Arkansas rules that a judge cannot refuse to establish a (d)(4)(A) trust because of public policy concerns if the petitioner otherwise meets the statutory requirements set out in state and federal law. In The Matter of James S. Corn (Ark., No. CV 15-902, June 2, 2016).
If you\’ve decided to hire a caregiver for a person with special needs, you\’ll need to interview the candidates. Here are eleven important questions to ask.
Unfortunately, too many trustees of special needs trusts or those who oversee funds for people with special needs don\’t even know that they have a duty to account for the funds they manage, let alone perform that duty correctly.
A little-known provision in the Social Security regulations allows the spouse of a retiree to also receive Social Security benefits, even if he has not yet reached retirement age, so long as he is caring for a child with disabilities at home.
The Social Security Administration and the Federal Trade Commission recently issued warnings for people to be on the lookout for identity thieves seeking personal information in connection with disability benefit applications.
What is the best book to buy to help with the administration of a special needs trust?
The Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts rules that lower courts erred in denying a grandfather\’s request to intervene as an interested person seeking to limit his granddaughter\’s guardianship, finding that the grandfather qualifies as an interested person because he is interested in the welfare of an incapacitated person and not because of any personal interest that he may have in the proceedings. Guardianship of B.V.G. (Mass., No. SJC-11925, May 23, 2016).
Can a special needs trust have more than one trustee at a time?
The 7th Circuit Court of Appeals reverses a lower court\’s grant of summary judgment in favor of the state, ruling that Indiana may have violated the Americans with Disabilities Act with a policy change that reassigned many developmentally disabled individuals to a capped waiver program, putting them at risk of institutionalization. Steimel v. Wernert (7th Cir., No. 15-2377, May 10, 2016).
“We no longer require that masks be worn when meeting with us. However, if you wear a mask, we’ll do likewise.”
