Keeping Up With Elder Law Issues
What Are The Elder Law Basics?
When you run into a legal problem today, senior citizens today know how complex things can get. Do you understand the how the social security system affects you? Are you over 65 and you’re running into age discrimination? How are you going to become expert in laws affecting the elderly?
In the late 1990′s the “elder law” phrase referred to any law regarding senior citizens and their legal issues. What are elder law issues? Seniors are concerned with age discrimination, estate planning, health care, social security and what benefits they leave for loved ones when they pass away. Other topics directly affecting people living longer and longer are long term care and competency issues. Counselors experienced in elder law are well suited to answer your questions about these issues.
The Growth Of Elder Law
In Minnesota, our seniors 65 years and older are about 12.7% (668,000) of the whole state population. With nearly 13% of our population now over age 65, estimates predict that by 2050 senior citizens will total 36 million in the United States. Such incredible growth contributes to the need for capable legal counselors and practitioners. Are you interested in setting up your estate in order to leave something for your spouse and children after your death? Do you suspect that you’ve been discriminated against because of your age? An experienced elder law attorney will guide you to the solution that is best for you.
The Need For Elder Law
Aging America is contributing big time to the growth of this legal niche. More and more people are living longer and longer lives. This is resulting in problems with obtaining social security benefits, processing Medical Assistance claims and finding suitable long term care facilities. As if problems with these public systems were not enough, our seniors also face elder abuse, challenges to their ability to care for themselves and rising groups of scammers looking to take advantage of them. New legislation on the national and state levels continually seeks to address these issues as our senior population explodes. Sometimes even the most devoted family members are confused by options, including recourse under the law.
The Complexity Of Elder Law
The right elder law attorney, whether or not local to the senior, can help preserve dignity and stand up in defense of your rights that you lived so long to earn. Effective estate planning includes more than just what you want to leave behind and to whom. Effective estate planning ensures that you can fund both the enjoyable and comfortable life today and you can also afford the care you may need tomorrow. If you are being abused, or if you suspect elder abuse, it’s critical that you speak up at once. Every step of the way of elderly life, you have rights and you ought to defend those rights to protect the quality of life that you deserve.
Keeping Up With Elder Law Issues
Lawyers and legal firms only recently began to distinguish between general areas of law and elder law. To define a legal practice by the type of client than by the type of law being practiced has been rare. Any cursory search of the phone book, web search and directories shows a preponderance of family lawyers, criminal lawyers, tax lawyers, etc. Elder law is unique because the lawyer focuses on one type of client — the senior citizen — instead of any one type of law. The best counselors must be experienced in a broad range of legal issues, from finance, state and national legislation, government programs, documents, planning and litigation.
This necessary diversity of knowledge makes the elder law expert an ideal counselor for most legal needs you will face after age 65. However, those of us younger need to plan for our senior future. Effective planning is the best way to prepare for and head off senior problems that may occur. WL Brown Law focuses on elder law issues in the greater Minneapolis, Minnesota area. When you have senior issues and questions, call us to see how we can solve your problem.
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Answer Your Elder Law Question: 612-309-9184
Two Ways The Needs Trust Can Enhance The Quality Of Life For Persons With Disabilities
Needs Trust Planning Enhances Life For The Disabled
Trusts and estates planning go hand in hand when it comes to ensuring quality of life for a person with a disability. Life has dealt people with disabilities enough challenges. If you have the means and the motivation to help care for a loved one with disabilities you should know how you can best provide financial assistance without diminishing public assistance. Trusts are frequently used in estate planning and caring for a disabled person is an excellent use, indeed.
What is a trust? A Trust is a legal entity that holds assets for the benefit of the Beneficiary. The Grantor sets up the trust and assigns the Trustee to manage the trust for the benefit of the beneficiary. The trustee also distributes funds from the trust on behalf of the beneficiary. Since neither you, the grantor and source of the money, nor the disabled person, the beneficiary, directly control these assets, the law grants special privileges to the trust, including special tax treatments.
Supplemental And Special Needs Trust
Two types of trusts can be established to benefit a person with a disability by supplementing their governmental benefits: Supplemental Needs Trust and Special Needs Trust. Both types of trusts are intended to provide funds to enhance government disability benefits and protect financial resources.
Supplemental Needs Trust Provides Resources
A Supplemental Needs Trust is created for a disabled beneficiary and supplements public benefits such as Medicaid and Medical Assistance rather than diminishing them. Government benefit programs consider the disabled person’s resources and income to determine eligibility for assistance and the amount of such assistance. Whereas, Social Security and Medical Assistance may provide a basic level of income to a person with a disability, quite often this is not enough. Any income the person earns reduces benefits. Benefit programs also consider the spouse and others obligated to pay any sum to or for the benefit of the trust beneficiary. Outright giving the person money accomplishes little more than reducing benefits.
Supplemental Needs Trust And Quality Of Life
A Supplemental Needs Trust can enhance their quality of life by providing money to supplemental their needs that is not provided by public programs. Before the trustee can make any distributions, the beneficiary must first use the government benefits. A family member may establish a trust for the disabled person without reducing the beneficiary’s Medicaid and other government benefits. Recent changes in federal and state laws provide opportunity to use the disabled person’s own funds in such trusts under certain conditions.
Define Disability For Needs Trusts
A Supplemental Needs Trust qualifies a person as disabled in one of two ways. If the person is defined as disabled under Title II or Title XVI of the Social Security Act, that person qualifies as disabled for this trust. Bottom line, receiving Supplemental Security Income (SSI) or Social Security Disability benefits qualifies the person as disabled. Also, if a person has a physical or mental illness that is expected to last for twelve months or more and it substantially impairs their ability to provide for their own care, they qualify as disabled. This disability can be established by the written opinion of a licensed professional. This diagnosis must also be confirmed by the written opinion of a second licensed professional.
Special Needs Trust Protects Resources
A Special Needs Trust also protects the assets of the grantor and is used to supplement government benefits. This trust is created to ensure that the disabled beneficiary can enjoy the use of property that is intended for their benefit. Whereas, these trusts are often setup for people lacking the mental capacity to handle their own financial affairs, there may be fiscal advantages to this trust. Special Needs Trusts may be setup to receive an inheritance on behalf of a person with a disability. They can be funded from the proceeds of criminal injury compensation, litigation or insurance settlements. Basically, this trust is funded by the beneficiary with their own assets.
State Receives Special Needs Trust Assets
Unlike other trusts, upon death of the grantor, who is also the beneficiary, the state receives all money remaining in the trust up to the amount already paid by the state for benefits like Medical Assistance. Any remaining trust assets go to the persons listed in the trust or a non-profit designated by the grantor. In Minnesota, the trustee of a Special Needs Trust must submit to the Commissioner of Human Services a copy of the trust, an inventory of the trust account assets and the value of those assets annually.
A Special Needs Trust qualifies a person as disabled also in Title XVI of the Social Security Act. In Minnesota, disability may also be established by a State Medical Review Team that uses similar criteria to the Social Security Administration.
Needs Trust Planning Enhances Life For The Disabled
When it comes to ensuring quality of life for a disabled person, trusts and estates planning are powerful tools for good. Having means and motivation to help care for a disabled loved one you now know two effective tools to provide financial assistance without diminishing other benefits. If you have close to you a person with disabilities and you want to enhance the quality of their life, exercise your compassion without wasting your valuable resources. WL Brown Law Office specializes in all things elder law and special needs. We will be honored to discuss your special needs and answer your questions at your convenience. Let’s build a trust relationship by exploring your special needs and supplemental needs together.
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Answer Your Needs Trust Question: 612-309-9184
WL Brown Law Office Launches Its New Elder Law & Senior Rights Website In January 2011
William Brown Speaks Elder Law
Welcome To The New WL Brown Law Office Elder Law Website!
Starting the new year in January 2011, we are excited to offer to the Minneapolis and Saint Paul area more in-depth information regarding senior issues. The navigation features take you directly to your topic. Whether you are seeking information on Medical Assistance, Probate or how to select a quality care facility, our elder law website quickly answers your questions. We are dedicated to providing the best and most current information to you in the simplest way possible.
Current Elder Law Information
We have always been active in this community and we will continually add current information here. Our website also has connections to social media sites like Twitter and Facebook. We encourage you to interact with us. Tell us what you like or don’t like. Ask us for information that you cannot find. As you can see, we also have a blog. Come back here regularly to see new information, get our opinions on elder law issues and vulnerable adult concerns.
Accessible Elder Law
It is very important to us that you can access elder law information in plain language. Our blog will be written in a non-legalese format to be read by those outside the legal community as well as judges, lawyers and law students. We hope that you learn helpful information from us, that you know that you can always ask us questions and get a straight answer. You can read about legal issues facing seniors through Twitter and Facebook along with receiving regular email updates. Count on William Brown to personally blog on interesting elder law and senior rights issues every two weeks. At other times, we will post information from a variety of sources authoritative in this field.
Ask Elder Law Questions
We are counting on you, dear readers, to regularly read and comment on the WL Brown Law Office blog and website. As WL Brown Law Office embarks on our third year of operation, we are excited to have a technically modern and sophisticated web presence. We hope to reach and educate more families and seniors in Minnesota, the United States and across the world. It is only through thorough education and open exchange of ideas and needs that we can best serve our seniors. All of us will be seniors one day and we are here to pave the way to quality life.
We welcome all of the Twin Cities to this website. Help us make this the best elder law resource on the Internet.
Sincerely,
William Brown
Elder Law Attorney
