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Brief Description The Special Needs Trust Administration Manual is an invaluable guide for anyone who is managing a Special Needs Trust for a person with disabilities. The authors,
who are all Massachusetts attorneys, bring many years experience
in guiding trustees through the complicated rules of Special Needs
Trusts. In clear and easy to understand language, the authors
explain how a trustee can use trust funds to meet the financial
needs of a person with disabilities and still comply with the
complex rules of government benefit programs. The Special Needs
Trust Administration Manual covers many topics, including what
trustees need to know about public benefit programs such as SSI,
SSDI, Medicare, and Medicaid; taxes and Special Needs Trusts;
payment of recreation, transportation, and medical costs; housing
subsidies; and trustee duties. Are you
the trustee of a Special Needs Trust for a person with a disability?
Then this book is for you! The Special Trust Administration Manual,
written by five Massachusetts disability attorneys, is a practical
reference guide that explains what trustees need to know about
SSI and SSDI, taxes, housing subsidies, trustee duties, and more.
Learn how to meet your responsibilities to the beneficiary and
still comply with the complex rules of government benefit programs.
 PREFACE, 2005 EDITION Timing, it seems, is everything. Just after we published this book in October 2004, the Social Security Administration made three important changes to the SSI program rules. These revisions became effective January 1, 2005. This second edition reflects these changes, which are: • Clothing is no longer considered in-kind income. Formerly, if an SSI recipient received any clothing from a third party (including a Special Needs Trust), his SSI benefit might be reduced. This is because clothing (along with food and shelter) was considered in-kind income. Now the trustee’s job should be easier, because she can use trust funds to pay for the beneficiary’s clothes without reducing the SSI benefit. (However, food and shelter are still considered in-kind income that can reduce the SSI benefit.) • The $4,500 limit on the value of an automobile has been eliminated. Formerly, if an SSI recipient owned an automobile, it had to be worth $4,500 or less, unless it was specially adapted, required for medical transportation, or needed because of distance or geography. Now Social Security disregards the car’s value. • The $2,000 limit on the value of personal items a recipient can own has been eliminated. Formerly, the value of a recipient’s personal property (such as furniture, computer, jewelry, etc.) could not exceed $2,000. Now there is no monetary limit on that kind of property. Note, however, that the new law affects only personal items. SSI’s strict $2,000 limit on liquid resources (cash, bank account, savings bonds, etc.) remains unchanged. Besides these important changes, this second edition contains the 2005 figures for all SSI-related examples and calculations. Also, the 2005 figures have been used for all SSI-related programs, including SSDI and Medicaid. Last, you readers have been very generous with your comments. We have tried to make this second edition responsive to your concerns. For example, apparently there was some confusion about what happens when the Special Needs Trust ends. Some readers erroneously thought the money must always go to the government as a “payback” for the beneficiary’s medical benefits. We assure you that this is not the case with every trust. In fact, if the trust was created by someone other than the disabled beneficiary (such as a parent), the money can usually go to other family members (the remainder beneficiaries) when the trust ends. In most cases, government reimbursement is only a factor if the disabled beneficiary uses his own money to fund a trust for himself. This is explained in detail in the revised Chapter One. Please continue to send us your comments and questions. And thank you all for the positive reception you have given this work.
Finding decent, affordable housing can be especially challenging for low-income people with disabilities. Yet, despite the odds, many people with disabilities live independently in apartments, and some even own their own homes. In this section we discuss what housing costs the trustee may safely pay from trust funds and which ones she should not pay. We also discuss the section 8 housing subsidy program and explain how the Special Needs Trust may affect that program. How does payment of housing costs by a Special Needs Trust affect SSI? In most states, including Massachusetts, an SSI recipient is expected to pay for all of his housing expenses out of his SSI stipend. If he receives outside assistance with housing costs of more than $20 per month, then his SSI benefit will be reduced. Fortunately, not every housing related item causes a problem with SSI. Only the following items, which Social Security calls “countable” housing expenses, will reduce the SSI benefit: • Mortgage
(principal and interest) 416.C.F.R. § 1130(b); POMS SI 00835.465D. Although Social Security has not expressly identified what housing related expenses are “non-countable” and will not cause a problem with SSI, advocates generally agree that the trustee may safely pay for the following items: • Telephone If the trustee pays for any countable housing items, then SSI will be reduced by the lesser of the item’s actual value or one-third of the federal benefit amount, plus $20 (currently $213 in 2005). (This rule, the Presumed Maximum Value Rule, is explained in the SSI section of Public Benefits (Chapter 2). For example, John, an SSI recipient, lives in his own apartment. In one month, John's family pays his $250 heating oil bill. That month, John's SSI will be reduced by $213. But, the next month, John's family instead pays his $40 electric bill. That month, John's SSI payment will be reduced by only $40. An important point to keep in mind is that even if the SSI recipient receives more than one countable shelter item in a month, SSI is never reduced by more than $213 per month. This can be important for homeowners if the trustee must pay expenses for mortgage, real estate taxes, homeowner’s insurance and utilities every month. Another important
point is that if the trustee pays for a countable shelter item,
then it only affects the SSI benefit for one month, which is
the month the benefit is received. The SSI benefit for the next
month will not be affected. Special Needs Trusts enhance a disabled person's quality of life while allowing government benefits like Medicaid to continue. But many trustees of such trusts are laypersons.attorneys often areasked by clients about to take on the job of trustee, "Is there something I can read?" The authors of this manual wrote it so that they could finally answer, "Yes!" The authors are five Massachusetts attorneys with extensive experience in creating and administering Special Needs Trusts.The manual covers the subject from A to Z, including general trust accounting rules, descriptions of public benefit programs, and instructions on making distributions from special needs trusts. Mistakes in this field can be very costly to the beneficiaries, potentially involving the loss of important coverage from public benefits programs and the requirement to pay back past benefits. Because the authors are Massachusetts attorneys, the book explains how federal law and regulations are applied in that state. While the book is of value to readers in any state, the authors note that laws in other states may differ, particularly with respect to Medicaid, and that local attorneys should be consulted.
... a welcome addition to any disabilities library. The
Signal, May, 2005
I wanted to let you know how much I appreciated this manual for trustees. I have been working with families of disabled children for most of my career in a variety of positions and I am a mother of a very involved child as well. Many parents become trustees, as well as close relatives and family members. This is a great guide to their responsibilities as well as providing much needed resources and information. Most importantly, the language is easy to understand and the legalese is kept to a minimum. I recommend it to professionals and lay people alike. Annette
M. Hines, Attorney at Law …an excellent source for very hard to find information. I have spent much time in the past trying to put together all the pieces of information. What you have done is outstanding.
Email your review to reviews@disabilitiesbooks.com Barbara D. Jackins practices law in Belmont, MA. Her practice centers on areas of the law that affect people with disabilities and their families, such as estate planning, Medicaid planning, SSI and other public benefits, guardianship, and trust administration. She has served on the Governors Commission on Mental Retardation Task Force on Public-Private Partnerships. She currently serves on the Board of Directors of the NWW Committee (Newton, MA), an agency that provides community housing for people with disabilities. She is a member of the National Academy of Elderly Law Attorney and a 1978 graduate of Suffolk University Law School. Richard S. Blank is a member of the firm Rubin and Rudman LLP in Boston, Massachusetts, where he practices in the areas of trust administration and estate planning. He has extensive experience drafting and administering Special Needs Trusts and preserving government benefits. A substantial part of his practice is focused on integrating personal injury settlements into Special Needs Trusts and then administering those trusts. He is a 1987 graduate of Georgetown University Law Center. Peter M. Macy is a member of Weston, Patrick, Willard & Redding, a professional association located in Boston, Massachusetts. His practice focuses on Medicaid law, guardianship, estate planning and private trustee services. He also is a founder and director of Family Trust of Massachusetts, Inc., a non-profit organization based in Boston that has established a Medicaid-exempt pooled trust for elderly and disabled persons. Mr. Macy has written about Medicaid for the Massachusetts Law Review and speaks regularly in the Boston area about Medicaid and guardianship topics. He earned his J.D. from Boston College Law School and holds graduate degrees in education and theology from Harvard University. He is a member of the Boston Bar Association and the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys. Harriet H. Onello practices Elder Law and Family Law in Lexington, Massachusetts. She is the author of a chapter on Planning for Incapacity in a three-volume book entitled Estate Planning for the Aged or Incapacitated Client in Massachusetts, published by Massachusetts Continuing Legal Education, Inc. She participates as faculty for continuing legal education programs and has made a number of community presentations on elder law issues. She received an M.Ed. from Harvard Graduate School of Education and a J.D. from Suffolk University. Ms. Onello is a founding member and immediate Past President of the Massachusetts Chapter of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys. Ken W. Shulman maintains a private, general practice of law in Boston, Massachusetts, with a particular focus on estate planning and related issues for elders and for families who have disabled children. He frequently speaks to consumer groups, professionals in the field, and others interested in issues related to aging, disability, advocacy, financial planning, and the preservation of government entitlements. Prior to his individual practice, he was a partner of McCabe, Shulman, Siegel and Rooney in Boston. He has served as a board member for several human service agencies including the Greater Boston ARC. He has also served as a consultant to the Massachusetts Office of Handicapped Affairs, the Disability Law Center, and the Mental Health Legal Advisors Committee, and he currently serves on the Board of Directors of the Massachusetts Chapter of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys. Mr. Shulman is a frequent participant in lawyer training sessions sponsored by the Massachusetts Continuing Legal Education organization and a frequent contributor to their publications, having written numerous articles and co-chaired conferences on estate planning and preserving eligibility for public benefits for disabled clients. He is a graduate of Boston University School of Law. |