Elder Law and Estate Planning Attorney
Affordable, safe housing is one of the most crucial aspects of a person’s life, especially if that person has a disability. Parents and guardians must plan for this as early as possible to make sure their loved one has a Read More …
If you have a child with a disability, providing for them into the future will likely stand among your top priorities. However, if you also wish to apply for Medicaid to cover your own long-term care expenses, first consider establishing Read More …
Do you love local baseball as much as Joe? Take advantage of the opportunity to enjoy a wonderful night with the family watching baseball at the Lake Erie Crushers stadium in Avon on July 8th and stop by Joe’s table. Read More …
The maximum amount that can be contributed each year to an ABLE account for a person with disabilities rose $1,000 to $16,000 on January 1, 2022. The figure, which is tied to the inflation-adjusted value of the IRS’s gift tax exclusion, had Read More …
If you have a child with disabilities, it is crucial to set money aside for the child’s future. At the same time, you need to consider your child’s access to public benefit programs such as Medicaid and Supplemental Security Income (SSI), Read More …
One of the most important roles in a special needs plan is that of trustee, the person who administers a special needs trust (SNT). Of a trustee’s many responsibilities, record-keeping is perhaps the most crucial. Because the trustee is managing accounts on behalf Read More …
The year was 1983: The U.S. invaded Grenada. A gallon of gas cost 96 cents. Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” video premiered. That year was also the last time that recipients of Social Security disability benefits saw a cost-of-living increase steeper than the Read More …
Unique tax benefits are available to families who have children with special needs. And thanks to recent changes in the tax code, there are opportunities to save substantial amounts of money at tax time. Thomas M. Brinker, Jr., a professor of accounting Read More …
Among the costs of caring for a dependent with special needs are the fees for professional advice. Some families are tempted to save on these costs by setting up a plan on their own. This can be attractive because so Read More …
The SECURE Act, passed at the end of 2019, changed a number of rules regarding inherited IRAs, making it more difficult for most beneficiaries to save on taxes by “stretching” distributions over many years. (Read our post, SECURE Act Increases Tax Read More …
More than six million people whose disabilities arose later in life will be able to open ABLE savings accounts if a bill just reintroduced in Congress, the ABLE Age Adjustment Act, becomes law. In 2014, Congress passed the Achieving a Better Life Experience (ABLE) Read More …
President Biden has signed the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan into law. Among its benefits are $1,400 checks that are already landing in the bank accounts or mailboxes of most Americans to help them weather the economic downturn caused by Read More …
A New Jersey man has been charged with stealing $330,000 from the special needs trust (SNT) of a man living in a long-term care facility. The case highlights the importance of having a professional trustee manage a special needs trust. Read More …
One area that particularly vexes trustees of special needs trusts is how to get beneficiaries what they need without running afoul of the strict rules for public benefits like Supplemental Security Income (SSI). Monitoring how money is being spent, collecting Read More …
Many websites offer customized, do-it-yourself wills and other estate planning documents. Although such products are convenient, using them could create serious and expensive legal problems for heirs. These digital services appear to offer a cost-effective and easy alternative to visiting an Read More …
People not familiar with children with special needs often find it surprising when we explain our areas of expertise are estate planning, long term care planning, elder law and special needs planning. They usually haven’t considered that children with disabilities Read More …
Register now for our free event with the Lorain Public Library System at the North Ridgeville Branch on Bainbridge. Estate Planning Events and Seminars At Joseph L. Motta Co., we genuinely enjoy sharing our expertise and knowledge in the areas Read More …
It is possible that an individual, once diagnosed as a person with special needs, sometime in the future will no longer qualify as “disabled” according to IRS regulations. The individual’s condition might have improved through remission or medical treatment, for Read More …
Thanks to recent changes in the tax law, families can now make limited transfers from existing 529 accounts to ABLE accounts with no tax consequences. Families with special needs children may be thinking about rolling existing 529 funds into ABLE Read More …
Many parents have their retirement savings socked away in 401(k)s and IRAs. So that your beneficiaries do not have to pay taxes on the funds prematurely, it’s important to properly structure the beneficiary designations for these accounts. Unfortunately when a Read More …
