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

Agenda / Content Covered

1. ABLE Act Special Needs Savings Account: Coverage, Benefits, Eligibility Requirements
   10:00 — 11:15, Patricia Kefalas Dudek
   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 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 Kefalas Dudek
4. Where to Direct Funds and How to Use Them
   2:00 — 3:15, Caren 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, Caren Jenkins
6. Legal Ethics
   4:00 — 5:00, Caren Jenkins
   1. Who is Your Client?
   2. Guarding Confidentiality
   3. Attorney Fees
   4. Client Mental Capacity
   5. Fiduciary Liability

Accreditation Details:

Caren C Jenkins is the principal attorney with Nevada Legacy Law, where her practice areas include probate avoidance, family trusts, living wills/end of life care, charitable gifts, valuation assistance, powers of attorney, incapacity planning, asset protection, special needs trusts, business succession, and real property law. Ms. Jenkins regularly speaks on topics from basic estate planning to more complex applications like SNTs and the ABLE Act. She earned her B.S. degree from Pennsylvania State University, and her J.D. degree from Golden Gate University School of Law.

 

Patricia E Kefalas Dudek is the principal of Patricia E. Kefalas Dudek & Associates and the past chair of the Elder Law & Disability Rights Section of the State Bar of Michigan. Her practice concentrates in elder law, Medicaid, estate planning, estates/trust administration, probate, administrative law and disability advocacy. Ms. Dudek’s practice includes advising and preparing estate planning documents, including special needs trusts; representation in Medicaid hearings to secure appropriate services; administration of estates, trusts, guardianship, conservatorship, and other protective arrangements; and contested litigation in these areas. A prolific writer and lecturer on topics related to Medicaid, alternatives to guardianship and estate planning for people with disabilities, elders and their right to control their support services, Ms. Dudek was the author of the model contracts for Michigan’s Medicaid Self Determination Initiative. These contracts facilitate control over Medicaid service budgets and allows for creative solutions for housing and supports. Another creative solution used by Ms. Dudek on behalf of her clients is the use of a pooled account trust for Medicaid planning. She was the first attorney in Michigan to draft one of these trusts and to secure approval for Medicaid by both the Social Security Administration and the state of Michigan. She has received numerous local and national awards for her advocacy. Ms. Dudek is a contributing author for Representing the Elderly Client and the Special Needs Trust Handbook. Ms. Dudek earned her B.A. degree from Michigan State University and her J.D. degree from the Detroit College of Law (now the Michigan State University School of Law). She is a member of the Academy of Special Needs Planners, American Bar Association, State Bar of Michigan (member, Elder Law and Disability Rights Section), and a fellow of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys (NAELA).