Imagine not being able to marry or even live with the person you love. The recently released documentary Patrice: The Movie, now available on Hulu, addresses this emotionally challenging conundrum. Patrice Jetter and Garry Wickham are the main characters in this touching film. They have both lived with disabilities their whole lives and receive disability benefits from the government.

Most of us spend little time thinking about death or losing the capacity to manage our own affairs. These are unpleasant topics and banishing them from our minds is easier than entertaining them. Death, however, is inevitable and becoming incapacitated is not likely, but possible.

What would happen if you could no longer handle your finances or communicate your health care decisions? Who would make important decisions for you about these kinds of things or manage and distribute your assets after you die? These are some of the underlying questions in estate planning.

If you rely on Social Security disability benefits programs such as Supplemental Security Income (SSI) or Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI), the year ahead will offer a somewhat minimal amount of relief financially.

The Social Security Administration (SSA) issued its cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) for 2025 on October 10, 2024. This coming year, the COLA will increase by 2.5 percent. The average increase over the past decade, according to the SSA, has hovered around 2.6 percent. The highest adjustment in recent years, an increase of 8.7 percent, went into effect in 2023.

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has released its tax inflation adjustment figures for tax year 2025.

The Social Security Administration (SSA) has officially released its annual cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) figures for 2025. These newly issued numbers will have an impact on monthly Social Security benefits payouts for retirees, as well as recipients of Social Security disability benefits and survivor benefits, over the forthcoming year.

Over the past year, the Social Security Administration (SSA) has been making numerous improvements to its Supplemental Security Income (SSI) program. These changes, some of which became official this past week, will make things a bit easier for SSI applicants as well as current recipients.

The Social Security Administration (SSA) has published a final rule simplifying and expanding its rental subsidy program for Supplemental Security Income (SSI).

Effective September 30, 2024, the new rule is likely to allow more people to qualify for SSI. In addition, some current SSI recipients may see an increase in their monthly benefit amount as a result. The rule change is part of a broader agency effort to streamline certain aspects of the SSI program.

SSI applicants and recipients may want to talk to a special needs planning lawyer about the new rule if they have questions about how it affects them.

The Social Security Administration (SSA) has announced a major change regarding how it calculates In-Kind Support and Maintenance (ISM) for recipients of Supplemental Security Income, or SSI. Beginning later this year, the SSA will no longer count “free food” as income.

The final rule, which appeared in the Federal Register on March 27, 2024, also clarifies the SSA’s definition of “income.” The new rule will go into effect on September 30, 2024.

Dori J. Dixon has been selected as the newest member of the Special Needs Alliance.

Established in 2002, the Special Needs Alliance is a national, non-profit collective of many of America’s leading disability and public benefits attorneys. Currently in 48 states, SNA members work to secure Medicaid and other public benefits for individuals with special needs. The SNA’s mission is to help enhance the quality of life for people with disabilities by coordinating private resources with public benefit programs through special needs planning and trusts.

Southpoint Estate Planning is excited to host a special event at Reality Ministries on May 23, 2024 at 6:00pm. Jenna Hamill Flynn (LCSW) from the Autism Society of North Carolina will be joining us to explain the Innovations Waiver's Registry of Unmet Needs in the state of North Carolina. Participants will leave with a stronger understanding of the steps to take to be placed on the waitlist as well as what to expect in the process.

The NC Innovations Waiver is a Federally approved 1915 C Medicaid Home and Community-Based Services Waiver (HCBS Waiver) designed to meet the needs of Individuals with Intellectual or Development Disabilities (I/DD) who prefer to get long-term care services and supports in their home or community, rather than in an institutional setting.

Your most valuable property may be your home, which is true for many people. You likely want your children to inherit that value when you pass away.

However, you may also have concerns about planning for the future, especially if your health declines and you need expensive long-term care. You may be aware that Medicaid can pay for these services. However, Medicaid rules say you can own no more than around $2,000 in assets to be eligible – now what?

Because of their disability, a person receiving Supplemental Security Income (SSI) may not have worked long enough to qualify for Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) benefits on their own work record. Therefore, once they meet the government’s strict physical or mental disability requirements and fall under SSI’s income and asset caps, the SSI recipient might assume that they will never obtain SSDI benefits in the future.

However, this is not always the case. In fact, many SSI recipients who became disabled prior to turning 22 years old may begin to receive SSDI benefits when one of their parents retires, becomes disabled, or passes away.

A business may be required to report under the CTA even if it is a business that is not required to report for Federal income tax purposes (such as a single-member LLC), and even if it was formed to hold specific property, such as real estate, and does not conduct any active business.

How can you ensure that your special needs child will remain well cared for and secure once others assume the role of guardian or caregiver? While creating a financial plan and establishing a specialized trust are central to preparing for your child's future, special needs planners also advise families to write down their intentions and expectations in a document referred to as a Memorandum of Intent, also known as a "Letter of Intent."

Children with disabilities present a unique challenge for parents who are looking to engage in estate planning. For one, you will want to optimize your estate to provide assets for your child. At the same time, maintaining their enrollment in public benefits programs is no doubt going to be essential.

To ensure you meet both of these objectives requires careful planning. A special needs trust is an estate planning tool that can accomplish these and other goals you may have for your child.

With the arrival of the new year, revisions to the annual gift tax and estate tax exclusions will be going into effect, as recently announced by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).

About 45 percent of adults say they plan to travel for the holidays, per The Vacationer.

With multiple generations getting together for holiday meals, gift exchanges and quality time, these annual gatherings present an opportunity to broach sensitive but important topics with your aging loved ones. By communicating with them and knowing their wishes, you can help them plan for their future.

Among adults aged 18 and older in the United States, estimates suggest that about 125,000 have Down syndrome (DS). It remains the main genetic cause of intellectual disability that qualifies individuals automatically for Supplemental Security Income (SSI) and, in turn, Medicaid. Yet very limited research exists on how adults with DS use Medicaid compared with other groups.

Currently, individuals who acquired a severe disability prior to age 22 are eligible for Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) based on a parent’s work record.

However, if a young person with a disability then wishes to pursue employment opportunities as they transition into adulthood, they may put themselves as risk of losing another benefit, the Disabled Adult Child (DAC) benefit.

In June 2023, Sens. Ron Wyden (D-OR), Bill Cassidy (R-LA), and a group of fellow senators reintroduced a bipartisan bill, known as the Work Without Worry Act.

Designed to allow adults with serious, lifelong disabilities to work without becoming ineligible for certain benefits, the legislation could aid about 6,000 individuals with disabilities over the coming decade if it passes.

Most estate planning attorneys can help you craft an estate plan that minimizes or avoids probate altogether. Probate proceedings are part of the public record and can be very time-consuming and expensive. However, in nearly every case, to some extent probate is necessary. So, it’s important to understand how to navigate the process.