Special Needs Trusts and ABLE Accounts: Improving Quality of Life While Protecting Benefits

New and Changing Planning Options for Beneficiaries with Special Needs

Special needs planning has undergone some significant changes in the past couple years, with new opportunities opening up for improving the beneficiaries' quality of life. Get a firm grip on how to effectively use SNTs and ABLE accounts separately or together. Maximize the use of the grantors' funds to improve the lives of beneficiaries with special needs. Register today!

• Determine the current qualifications for SNT grantors, beneficiaries and assets.
• Hear the latest news on the use of ABLE accounts and the state programs available.
• Understand recordkeeping requirements for both SNTs and ABLE accounts to ensure compliance.
• Explore how SNTs and ABLE accounts can be used together to complement each other.
• Clarify what constitutes "qualified disability expenses."

Agenda

10:00 am - 5:00 pm Eastern Standard Time

1. ABLE Act Special Needs Savings Account: Coverage, Benefits, Eligibility Requirements
   10:00 - 11:15, Dayna J. Lefebvre
   
   1. ABLE Account Eligibility Requirements
   2. Reporting Requirements
   3. Beneficiary Independence
   4. Contribution and Asset Limits
   5. Comparing State ABLE Programs
2. Special Needs Trusts Overview and Update: Qualified Beneficiaries, Types of SNTs
   11:30 - 12:30, Patricia E. Kefalas Dudek
   
   1. Eligibility Criteria
   2. First-Party vs. Third-Party SNT
   3. Pooled Trusts
   4. Qualified Expenses
   5. Key SNT Provisions (with Sample Trust Language)
3. Using the ABLE Account and a Third-Party Non-Pooled SNT Together
   1:00 - 2:00, Patricia E. Kefalas Dudek
   
4. Where to Direct Funds and How to Use Them
   2:00 - 3:15, Caren C. Jenkins
   
   1. Why Source of Funding Matters
   2. Income Limits
   3. What Constitutes "Qualified Disability Expenses" (QDE)
   4. Balancing Between Personal Checking Account, ABLE Account and SNT
   5. Expenses that Can Jeopardize SSI Benefits
   6. Other Limitations
5. Recordkeeping to Withstand SSA Scrutiny
   3:30 - 4:00, Dayna J. Lefebvre
   
6. Legal Ethics
   4:00 - 5:00, Caren C. Jenkins
   
   1. Who is Your Client?
   2. Guarding Confidentiality
   3. Attorney Fees
   4. Client Mental Capacity
   5. Fiduciary Liability