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Category Archives: Special Needs Planning

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A Comparison of Special Needs Trusts and ABLE Accounts

By Andre O. McDonald |

A special needs trust (SNT) and an Achieving a Better Life Experience account (ABLE) provide a tax-free way to save money for people with disabilities. Both options provide a mechanism for saving money and protecting resources that ensures the person with a disability (PWD) continues their eligibility for public benefits programs. Accumulating resources for… Read More »

Special Needs Trustee: What to Look For, and How to Choose a Good One

Choosing a Special Needs Trustee

By Andre O. McDonald |

When creating a special needs trust (SNT) for a loved one with a disability, the grantor (the individual creating and funding the trust) typically becomes the trustee. However, it is crucial to choose a successor trustee who will continue properly managing the SNT to benefit the special needs individual. When selecting a reliable, honest,… Read More »

Options for funding special needs trusts

Funding Options for Special Needs Trusts

By Andre O. McDonald |

It is crucial to properly fund special needs trusts (SNT’s), designating your trust as the owner of certain assets. The trustee can then distribute these assets to benefit your disabled loved one.  Before funding can happen, you must choose the type of trust that best suits the situation for your love one with special… Read More »

Guardianships 101 (Part 2)

The Basics of Guardianships (Part 2)

By Andre O. McDonald |

If you haven’t already read The Basics of Guardianships (Part 1), click here to do so. Once you understand how guardianships are intended to help a special needs adult, you must understand the key responsibilities a guardian plays within their legal role. Guardian duties vary depending on the protected person’s limitations and abilities. However,… Read More »

ABLE Accounts vs. Special Needs Trusts: How to Best Provide For Your Disabled Loved Ones

ABLE Accounts and Special Needs Trusts    

By Andre O. McDonald |

People who have loved ones with disabilities and need a way to save money tax-free often create a special needs trust (SNT) to supplement their loved one’s unique requirements and quality of life while continuing their eligibility for public assistance programs. In 2014, the ABLE Act (Achieving a Better Life Experience) became a second… Read More »

Understanding the importance of Special Needs Planning

Special Needs Planning: Enabling the Disabled

By Andre O. McDonald |

In honor of October as Special Needs Awareness Month, let’s take a look at special needs planning, which helps disabled people to live their best lives. Family money can be carefully managed to fit the disability-benefit rules and still provide additional perks for the disabled person to enjoy. And, though the rules can be… Read More »

Estate Planning strategies for parents with a special needs child

Estate Planning Tips for Parents of a Special Needs Child

By Andre O. McDonald |

Children with a wide variety of special needs (disabilities) can live more productive lives than ever before with today’s medicine and health care advancements. Many scientists regard the term “special needs” as a euphemism for disability. Yet, the difference between the two terms is primarily one of acceptance and preference as both terms describe the… Read More »

Brain injury and estate planning preparation

March is Brain Injury Awareness Month

By Andre O. McDonald |

As it has for thirty years, early March marks the beginning of Brain Injury Awareness Month. Brain injury, often referred to as traumatic brain injury (TBI), can range from mild (commonly called a concussion) to severe and is caused by an impact to the head or the body or by a penetrating head injury…. Read More »

March is Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month

March is Developmental Disability Awareness Month

By Andre O. McDonald |

In March of 1987, the Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month began, calling upon all Americans to provide the opportunities and encouragement necessary for people with developmental disabilities to reach their potential. Since then, the National Association of Councils on Developmental Disabilities (NACDD) holds a campaign each March to communicate the importance of inclusion and story… Read More »

Purpose of a supplemental needs trust (SNT)

Third-Party Supplemental Needs Trust

By Andre O. McDonald |

If you want to provide for a loved one who is disabled or has special needs when you are no longer here, care must be taken to ensure that the inheritance you leave will help rather than harm your loved one. An inheritance received outright could negatively impact your loved one if he or… Read More »

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For help with estate planning, special needs planning or elder law throughout Howard, Montgomery, Prince George’s, Anne Arundel, and Baltimore County; and Baltimore City, contact McDonald Law Firm, LLC.

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McDonald Law Firm, LLC

Columbia Office

10500 Little Patuxent Pkwy, #420
Columbia, MD 21044-3563

Bethesda Office:

(By Appointment Only)

7315 Wisconsin Avenue, Suite 800 West
Bethesda, MD 20814

Washington, DC Office:

2101 L Street, N.W., Suite 300
Washington, DC 20037

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