Special Needs Trust?

Here is information about a special needs trust from a Florida Bar Journal Article.

A new quasi-governmental pooled special needs trust provides a safer and more transparent solution for disabled persons to set aside funds to legally and ethically but still maintain eligibility for public assistance. By using a trust protector model and directing any and all retained funds back to the Statewide Public Guardianship Office, the new State of Florida Public Guardianship Pooled Special Needs Trust advances good public policy and safer judicial and day-to-day administration.

What is a special needs trust?
A special needs trust is a trust agreement, authorized by federal law,¹ which excludes certain assets and income from being counted against eligibility for certain need-based government benefits. If an otherwise impoverished disabled person comes into money, that person will lose his or her Medicaid health insurance. Because Medicaid is often the only health insurance a disabled person can obtain, the new money is often absorbed totally by health care costs. The disabled person then has no recourse other than discontinuing health care until the “new” Medicaid may be obtained upon “reimpoverishment.” It is, therefore, critical to keep Medicaid eligibility intact. Special needs trusts allow disabled people to keep the benefit of their savings but only to supplement government benefits which fall short of actual need. The disabled person is able to keep the benefit of the money and the Medicaid health insurance subject to state and federal law. Under some special needs trusts, the government then gets paid back upon the death of the disabled person.

If you would like more information contact me at scottrussell@tfamail.com or call me toll free at 1.866.453.7737

Quote of the day

“If you would be wealthy, think of saving as well as getting.” – Ben Franklin

Free tennis for athletes with special needs

Free tennis for athletes with special needs! There’s a wonderful place in Tampa called Tennis For Fun. Yes, they offer a free tennis clinic for athletes with special needs. It is a volunteer organization that provides athletes with an opportunity to have fun playing tennis, to learn basic skills and to socialize with each other. Check it out http://ow.ly/CPKcw

October is a special month of awareness

October is an awareness month for Down Syndrome.

Did you know that one in every 691 babies in the United States is born with Down syndrome, making Down syndrome the most common chromosomal condition?. In every cell in the human body there is a nucleus, where genetic material is stored in genes.  Genes carry the codes responsible for all of our inherited traits and are grouped along rod-like structures called chromosomes.  Typically, the nucleus of each cell contains 23 pairs of chromosomes, half of which are inherited from each parent. Down syndrome occurs when an individual has a full or partial extra copy of chromosome 21.

As part of the Awareness of Down Syndrome, there are Buddy Walks throughout the country. The Buddy Walk® program was established in 1995 by the National Down Syndrome Society (NDSS) to promote acceptance and inclusion of people with Down syndrome and to celebrate Down Syndrome Awareness Month in October. The name Buddy Walk® promotes inclusion between friends of every ability.

There are Buddy Walks taking place throughout the United States. In the next few weeks there are several in Florida. Click here to find out more.

Some 20 million U.S. families face this

Some 20 million U.S. families face the struggles of raising a child with disabilities, and the number continues to rise. Tackling the financial side can be overwhelming. For example, it will cost an estimated $3.2 million to take care of a child with autism over his lifetime. http://ow.ly/CA9SH

Looking for a unique gift?

Looking for a unique gift and one that can you teach kids to save? Savings bonds are a great gift for holidays or birthdays.
The U.S. Department of the Treasury has issued savings bonds since 1935.
http://1.usa.gov/1vJ3IMF

Top 10 ways to set goals for your financial future

When you have family members with special needs, it is important to make sure that our financial future is set. We need to make sure we can have the funds and resources available for the needs of our family. I found this list from CNN Money and thought it was a wonderful way to budget your money and set financial priorities.

1. Narrow your objectives.

You probably won’t be able to achieve every financial goal you’ve ever dreamed of. So identify your goals clearly and why they matter to you, and decide which are most important. By concentrating your efforts, you have a better chance of achieving what matters most.

2. Focus first on the goals that matter.

To accomplish primary goals, you will often need to put desirable but less important ones on the back burner.

3. Be prepared for conflicts.

Even worthy goals often conflict with one another. When faced with such a conflict, you should ask yourself questions like: Will one of the conflicting goals benefit more people than the other? Which goal will cause the greater harm if it is deferred?

4. Put time on your side.

The most important ally you have in reaching your goals is time. Money stashed in interest-earning savings accounts or invested in stocks and bonds grows and compounds. The more time you have, the more chance you have of success. Your age is a big factor – younger people (who have more time to build their nest egg) can invest differently than older ones. Generally, younger people can take greater risks than older people, given their longer investment horizon.

5. Choose carefully.

In drawing up your list of goals, you should look for things that will help you feel financially secure, happy or fulfilled. Some of the items that wind up on such lists include building an emergency fund, getting out of debt and paying kids’ tuitions. Once you have your list together, you need to rank the items in order of importance (if you have trouble doing so, use theCNNMoney.com Prioritizer for help).

6. Include family members.

If you have a spouse or significant other, make sure that person is part of the goal-setting process. Children, too, should have some say in goals that affect them.

7. Start now.

The longer you wait to identify and begin working toward your goals, the more difficulty you’ll have reaching them. And the longer you wait, the longer you postpone the advantage of compounding your money.

8. Sweat the big stuff.

Once you have prioritized your list of goals, keep your spending on course. Whenever you make a large payment for anything, ask yourself: “Is this taking me nearer to my primary goals – or leading me further away from them?” If a big expense doesn’t get you closer to your goals, try to defer or reduce it. If taking a grand cruise steals money from your kids’ college fund, maybe you should settle for a weekend getaway.

9. Don’t sweat the small stuff.

Although this lesson encourages you to focus on big-ticket, long-range plans, most of life is lived in the here-and-now and most of what you spend will continue to be for daily expenses – including many that are simply for fun. That’s OK – so long as your long-range needs are taken into consideration.

10. Be prepared for change.

Your needs and desires will change as you age, so you should probably reexamine your priorities at least every five years.