Disability

Planning for Incapacity

Published on: December 16, 2019 | By McCulloch & Miller, PLLC

It’s a hard thing to imagine: what would your life be like, if you were not able to take care of yourself? Not being able to manage your physical or financial needs, drive, leave your home without assistance, or do any of the things that you do now as a legally competent, abled-bodied person?

Being incapacitated means that someone has to be named to carry out your health care and manage your finances. Without a plan, courts usually get involved, and often people who don’t know the person needing help are the ones who make decisions for them. With a plan, as described in The Post-Searchlight’s recent article, “How to go about planning for incapacity,” you have the ability to tell what your wishes would be for health care and name someone to be in charge of your financial and legal affairs.

Incapacity can strike at any time. Advancing age can bring dementia and Alzheimer’s disease, and a serious illness or accident can happen suddenly. Therefore, it’s a real possibility that you or your spouse could become unable to handle your own medical or financial affairs.

Next Steps When the Diagnosis is Alzheimer’s

Published on: September 25, 2019 | By McCulloch & Miller, PLLC

We hope to enjoy out golden years, relaxing after decades of working and raising children. However, as we age, the likelihood of experiencing health issue increase. That includes Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia.

Learning that a loved one has Alzheimer’s or other diseases that require a great deal of health care is devastating to the individual and their families. The progressive nature of these diseases means that while the person doesn’t need intensive health care yet, eventually they will. According to an article from Newsmax, “5 Insurance Steps After Alzheimer's Strikes Loved One,” the planning for care needs to start immediately.

Alzheimer’s Disease International predicts that 44 million individuals worldwide have Alzheimer’s or a similar form of dementia, and 25% of those living with it never receive a diagnosis. Healthcare, including assisted living, memory care and in-home care is expensive. Health insurance is an important component of managing the ongoing expenses of living with Alzheimer’s.

Did Groucho Marx Have Estate Planning and Elder Care Problems?

Published on: September 13, 2019 | By McCulloch & Miller, PLLC

“By the time Groucho was an old man, however, he experienced significant problems in his daily activities, medical decision-making and the management of his estate. He suffered from elements of dementia, a heart attack and congestive heart failure, falls resulting in a broken hip, and after that hip was repaired, another fall and broken hip, urinary tract infections, strokes and hypertension.”

Julius Henry Marx, better known as Groucho, died 42 years ago on Aug. 19, 1977, at age 86. Groucho teamed with three of his four brothers—Harpo, Chico, and Zeppo—to become stars of vaudeville, Broadway, film, radio and television. (A fifth brother, Gummo, wasn’t part of the act).

PBS News Hours’ recent article, “How Groucho Marx fell prey to elder abuse” reports that the legal battles over Groucho’s money and possessions went on long after he died. The unrest of his last few years is familiar to adult children concerned with the well-being of their elderly parents.

How Does the Social Security Disability Benefit Process Work?

Published on: September 11, 2019 | By McCulloch & Miller, PLLC

Social Security disability benefits are based on average lifetime earnings. How severe the disability is, or what the household income is, has nothing to do with the amount of money that will be paid.

If you have your annual Social Security statement, you can see what you’ll probably get in the Estimated Benefits section. However, this is an estimate and not a final number. The total amount a disabled worker and his or her family can receive is roughly 150% to 180% of the disabled worker's benefit. Eligible family members can include a spouse, divorced spouse, children, a disabled child and/or an adult child disabled prior to age 22.

The estimated Social Security disability benefit amount for a disabled worker receiving Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) in January 2019 is $1,234 per month. However, a beneficiary can receive either less than this or up to $2,861, according the article “What are the maximum Social Security disability benefits?” from Investopedia.

Basics of a Special Needs Trust

Published on: July 18, 2019 | By McCulloch & Miller, PLLC

Parents of special needs children need to be especially proactive about planning for the future. Their planning should start with an estate plan, that includes a Special Needs Trust.

It’s one of the hardest things for any parent to think about, but for special needs families, planning for the child’s needs when the parents have passed, is particularly important. Trying to determine how much money the child will need while the parents are living and after they have died is complicated.

A recent Kiplinger’s article asks “How Much Should Go into Your Special Needs Trust?” As the article explains, a special needs trust, when properly established and managed, lets someone with a disability continue getting certain public benefits.

Special Needs Planning and ABLE Accounts

Published on: May 24, 2019 | By McCulloch & Miller, PLLC

How the “Achieving a Better Life Experience” Act, known as ABLE, provides a mechanism to create a tax-advantaged savings tool for individuals with disabilities and their families.

The benefits for income, health care, food and housing for disabled Americans are awarded based on a resource test, so that individuals who seek benefits are typically limited to have no more than $2,000 in savings or assets. This includes eligibility for Supplemental Security Income (SSI), SNAP and Medicaid.

In 2014, Congress passed legislation allowing people with disabilities to establish an account, similar to a special needs trust and with some similarities to a 529 college savings account, to accumulate funds to pay for qualified disability expenses. The legislation was named the Achieving a Better Life Experience Act (ABLE).

Congress Recognizing Need to Help Those with Early Onset Alzheimer’s

Published on: April 19, 2019 | By McCulloch & Miller, PLLC

A hearing of the Senate Special Committee on aging is looking at bipartisan legislation that would make changes to the Older Americans Act to give individuals younger than 60 with a diagnosis of early-onset Alzheimer’s a chance to access support programs.

Senate Bill 901, which is called “Younger-Onset Alzheimer’s Disease Act” was introduced in late March by a number of Senators who crossed party lines to support the amendment to the Older Americans Act. According to McKnight’s Senior Living’s article, “Bill would aid those with younger-onset Alzheimer’s disease,” Senate Bill 901 was introduced by Senator Susan Collins (R-ME), chairman of the committee, Senator Bob Casey, ranking member and Senators Doug Jones (D-AL) and Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV). In the House of Representatives, the bill H.R. 1903 introduced was introduced by Representatives Kathleen Rice (D-NY), Pete King (R-NY), David Trone (D-MD), Elise Stefanik (R-NY), Maxine Waters (D-CA), and Chris Smith (R-NJ).

Nutritional programs, supportive services, transportation, legal services, elder-abuse prevention and caregiver support have been available through the OAA since 1965. However, under the current law, only individuals over 60 are eligible.

Special Needs Planning With Special Needs Trusts

Published on: April 11, 2019 | By McCulloch & Miller, PLLC

It is important to understand the basics of special needs planning, so that you can plan for your child’s future. There are many issues to address, but an experienced Houston estate planning professional will be able to help.

Special needs planning is challenging. It’s important to have a strong team to work with. An estate planning attorney with experience in helping special needs families will be able to guide you through the process. They will also likely have access to other professionals to help.

A recent Forbes article, “Special Needs Kids Require Specialized Estate Planning,” says that if you have a child with special needs, it’s critical that you look at your planning options with your estate planning attorney and discuss your child’s health, capabilities and prognosis. You can then customize a plan that works for your child, with as much flexibility as possible.

When Special Needs Children Become Legal Adults

Published on: May 21, 2018 | By McCulloch & Miller, PLLC

The saying “little children, little problems, big children, big problems,” is particularly appropriate for parents of special needs children. Preparing for the next phase takes time, so it’s best to begin the process, once they celebrate their 17^th birthday.

One of the many decisions that parents need to make before a special needs child becomes a legal adult, is whether or not the child needs a guardian, or if the parents need a power of attorney, as detailed in a helpful article from Effingham (IL) Daily News, “Teaching parents about guardianship of disabled children.”

Once a child is age 18, the parent is no longer the child's legal guardian.

Latest Trend in Senior Housing: A Micro-House for Grandma

Published on: December 12, 2017 | By McCulloch & Miller, PLLC

Parking a “granny pod” in the backyard may be the best way to have aging parents near, but not under, your own roof.

Finding suitable and affordable housing for aging parents is a real challenge for many families. A senior lifestyle community may be too expensive, but living on their own may be risky for them and worrisome for adult children. AARP reports that about 23 million Americans are caring for their elderly parents, but may not be able to or want to have their parents move in with them.

Older adults relocating to be closer to relatives, may soon have another alternative: a "granny pod" or micro-house. These small homes are designed for accessibility, but are compact enough to fit in a backyard.