ABLE Accounts/Special Needs Trusts - What's the Difference

ABLE Accounts, also known as a 529A account, is a tax advantage savings account designed to help individuals with disabilities and their save for disability-related expenses. These accounts allow for tax-free growth and withdrawals when used on qualified disability related expenses.

SPECIAL NEEDS TRUSTS are designed to maintain eligibility for means tested government assistance programs such as Medicare and supplemental security income. Special needs trusts can also create a fund capable of supplementing the services and level of care not provided by Medicare and SSI.

Special Needs Trust

Special Needs Trust, also known as a supplemental needs trust, is a legal arrangement that allows a person with a disability to receive financial support without jeopardizing their eligibility for government assistance programs such as Medicaid or SSI. The trust is managed by a designated trustee and can be used to pay for goods and services that improves the quality of life for the individual with special needs.

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DEATH OF A LOVED ONE AND PROBATE ADMINISTRATION DO I REALLY HAVE TO DO THIS?

Our office receives a lot of calls from our potential clients asking this blazing question!!

The loss of a loved is a very difficult time. Grief, sadness, sorrow, anger and loneliness are some of the issues a loss brings to the family and friends. The additional burden of having to administer the deceased person’s assets through the probate court is a burden that can be avoided through proper planning and implantation of a plan of action during one’s lifetime to avoid the undue hardship of probate administration. The current probate administration could include a one-year administration through the county probate court, is invasive and leaves the family of a loved one with a sense of overwhelming uncertainty to an already trying time in their life.

But it doesn’t have to end like this! Probate administration can be limited to a single one step process if a person has implemented an estate plan that includes a “Trust”. This is the primary reason for discussing your estate plan with a trained professional in the area of estate planning on the benefits of Trusts versus Wills.

Through guidance by the trained professional, a person can implement a Trust which outlines the exact distribution of each asset of the deceased person, who is to oversee these distributions and how they are to be distributed to each beneficiary. The Trust further outlines and permits the Trust administrator to make distributions immediately without the supervision of the probate court.

Why doesn’t everyone do a Trust? Without the knowledge and direction of an estate planning attorney, a person may not be aware of this valuable planning tool and its true value…. AVOIDING PROBATE.

Louise Griffith

Advanced Certified Paralegal

Gift Basket Giveaway June 14

We will go live on Facebook June 14th to select a winner for our gift basket. The basket includes Knowledge Perk Whole Bean Signature Coffee, Improv Design Company’s travel mug, key chain, and cap, a journal, Khaled Elder Law T-shirt, and a complimentary Advance Directive! Find the post on our Khaled Elder Law Facebook page . Like the page. Tag three friends. Share the post to your page. Your name will be entered into the drawing. See you on Facebook June 14th at 11:00!

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Instacart to Help Older Adults Address Food Insecurity

Instacart to Help Older Adults Address Food Insecurity

According to a recent study published by Alignment Health, there are three major issues that affect quality of life for older Americans:

  • securing reliable transportation,

  • finding financial stability, and

  • getting access to high-quality, nutritious food

To help address the issue of food insecurity, grocery delivery company Instacart will be rolling out new support services dedicated to seniors in 2024.

What does YOUR aging future look like? Let’s talk Life Care Planning and Continuum of Care

Worried about the future? Our relationship based, comprehensive, and team approach assists you and your family by listening to your concerns and worries. We gather all important information and offer you a plan of relief and a way to fix what worries you. Our Life Car Plan could be as comprehensive as working with you while living at home with significant limited functioning or we can serve as a legal and social work team to be a listening ear that offers choices and options, while you and your loved ones decide what path is best for you all to take as you age. We soon plan to host webinars with educational sessions that explain all of the details of how we can assist. Call at 803-980-1199. Check out our Facebook Page , Instagram, and our freshly budding YouTube Channel!

Tips for Choosing a Caregiver for an Elder

Tips for Choosing a Caregiver for an Elder

Over 41 million Americans have a chronic health condition that limits their daily activities in some way, according to the Institute for Health & Aging at the University of California, and 12 million are unable to live independently. Of the one out of five elders who have attained age 85, more than half are impaired and need long-term care -- that is, the personal assistance that enables them to perform daily routines such as eating, bathing, and dressing.