Focus on Awareness of Legal Options for People with Disabilities
October 21, 2021, Richmond – Elder Law Guidance, The Elder Law Practice of Scott E. Collins, PLLC, is celebrating National Special Needs Law Month in October, as established by the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys (NAELA). The Richmond-based firm is raising awareness about the legal options for people with disabilities and their families to help them understand special needs planning and what resources are available to them.
“When it comes to special needs law, most people think about estate planning for a loved one born with a developmental disability,” said Collins, Firm Owner and Managing Attorney, and a member of NAELA. “However, we need to look at disability through a different lens and consider how inheriting can impact someone else’s need for Supplemental Security Income (SSI) or their Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI).”
Collins notes that Social Security law is complex and without proper legal guidance, someone who receives that income could face issues if they inherit by a well-meaning parent who doesn’t understand the impact inheritance can make on that income. The disabled person could lose their benefits.
“Disability does not discriminate, and most people become disabled in their fifties and sixties, when they often inherit from a parent,” said Collins. “People become disabled through work, car accidents, diseases like multiple sclerosis – it can really happen to anyone at any time.”
Collins encourages anyone who receives SSI/SSDI and their families to make sure they understand how their income would be affected should they inherit from a friend or relative. Communicating with loved ones about these issues is critical, and ensuring paperwork is updated and easily accessible on both sides (wills, powers of attorney, etc…) in the event of a death is important, too. Lower income wage earners are often the hardest hit in these circumstances, he notes, so planning is essential to offset emergencies.
Special needs law can involve supplemental needs trusts, care management, advocacy to preserve educational or civil rights, public benefits such as Supplemental Security Income (SSI) and Medicaid, SSDI and other important issues.
Members of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys (NAELA) are attorneys like Collins who are experienced and trained in working with the legal problems of aging Americans and individuals of all ages with disabilities.
Elder Law Guidance focuses exclusively on elder law and is committed to protecting families in Central and Southeastern Kentucky from the loss of everything they own to the extreme cost of long-term healthcare. To learn more about special needs planning, call the office at 859.544.6012 for resources or a free consultation. Visit www.ElderLawGuidance.com for more information.
