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Upcoming Workshops
Unless otherwise noted,
all workshops will be held at:
The Dale Law Firm, PC
Conference Room
127 Aspen Dr., Pacheco, CA
Register by contacting shelley@dalelawfirm.com
or by calling (925) 826-5585
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SPECIAL NEEDS TRUSTS WORKSHOP FOR
FAMILY MEMBERS
Two dates to choose from:
Saturday, January 26
6:00 pm - 8:00 pm
or
Wednesday, March 13
10:00 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.
For more information on these and other workshops,
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In Office
Promotional Special
New clients will receive a discount on their special needs trust estate planning if they attend a workshop, watch an on-line video
or view a free educational DVD from the Dale Law Firm, PC.
For more information, go to the
"Educational Workshop"
section of the
Achieving Independence
website
(www.achievingindependence.com)
There are two applicable videos to view. The first video is listed under "Special Needs Trusts" and is 1 hour, 40 minutes long.
The Limited Conservatorship workshop is listed in 5 sections under "Limited Conservatorship".
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"Achieving Independence"
The BOOK!
The Achieving Independence book focuses on the how to deal with challenges faced by people with disabilities and their loved ones with the utilization of a special needs trust. The information contained in the book reflects Steve's 20 years of experience as an attorney as well as 17 years as a psych nurse.
Stay tuned to this publication. We will announce our release date soon!
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This Month's
 Video Highlight
Defining the Challenge -
Part 4 of our
Special Needs Trust Workshop
by Steve Dale
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Proud members of
The Special Needs Alliance | |
learn more at
www.specialneedsalliance.org
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The Dale Law Firm is at
127 Aspen Dr., Suite 100
Pacheco, CA 94553
conveniently located between Martinez and Concord
Click HERE for Larger MAP
(925) 826-5855
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We at the Dale Law Firm, PC would like to wish all of you
a warm and happy New Years and holiday season
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A Newsletter for People with Disabilities and Their Families
December, 2012
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This issue's focus:
Defining the Challenge
Dear Reader:
Last newsletter we announced the exciting news that Steve is writing a book on special needs trusts. With the release of this book, families will have access to detailed information that will provide them with understanding, options and the vast experience of Steve and his colleagues.
We thought we'd provide you with a sneak peek. Here is an excerpt from the chapter entitled "Defining the Challenge".
We are just about to enter the 'editing' stage which should go a lot faster than the writing stage. We hope you enjoy this special preview, think of it as an early present for the holidays!
Nina S. Jones, Editor
The Achieving Independence Newsletter
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Kathy's Story
by Stephen W. Dale, LL.M., Esq. -
The Dale Law Firm, PC
Imagine for a moment that you have a 17 year-old daughter named Kathy. Kathy has a severe disability and is going to need some level of assistance for the rest of her life. According to current calculations, Kathy's life-span is likely to be 87 years or greater. The challenge you must address through your estate plan will be how to take care of Kathy for the next 70 years, and through various life events such as the illness and eventual death of parents, changes in services, etc. Creating a special needs trust that focuses only on protecting Kathy's eligibility for government assistance is not going to fulfill the challenge. For instance, it is doubtful that the benefit programs we know today such as SSI and Medi-Cal will still be in existence in 20, 30, and certainly not 70 years. It is much more likely that other programs will be in place, and such programs may operate very differently. In order to meet your objective of providing for Kathy for 70 or more years, it is essential that your plan has the flexibility to adjust as the programs and systems that provide for Kathy evolve.
Likewise, you need to consider what might happen if Kathy decides to move to a different state. As hard as it may be to imagine someone leaving California, it can and does happen every day. The services available for persons with disabilities vary widely from state to state. Many of the laws governing trusts and benefits also change. Your estate plan needs to be portable so that it will continue to accomplish your intentions regardless of the state where it is being administered.
The choice of trustee and the structure of the management system of a special needs trust are two important factors that can determine whether a special needs trust will succeed or fail. I will overview different options for the trustee in detail in a subsequent newsletter, but suffice to say, experience proves that a family managed trust rarely outperforms the professionally managed trust. However, naming a professional or corporate trustee is not enough to ensure success. No one can guarantee that a particular trustee will provide high quality services and protect a disabled beneficiary for the next 70 years. More to the point, no one can assure you that a particular trustee, corporate, professional or otherwise, will even be in existence for the next 70 years. The recent banking crisis has proven that trustees such as A. G Edwards, which has been around for more than 100 years can still be bought out. Trust companies, professional trustees and pooled trusts are only as good as the people who run them, and these people must necessarily change over time. That is why it is important for a special needs trust to have a complete management system which includes a professional or corporate trustee as one of its components, while also providing a system of fiscal checks and balances, personal advocacy and oversight.
All too frequently special needs trusts only focus on one goal: the preservation of benefits. Yet, most families are interested in far more than keeping their loved ones on a welfare program. These families are concentrating on providing the best quality of life possible given the realities of the current benefits system and the resources they have available to them. Still, a trust should accomplish so much more. Think of it as your alter ego. A properly composed special needs trust is a list of directions that you're going to give to someone in order to carry out your loved ones specific needs and wishes.
The disability community is diverse from group to group and from person to person. A person with Down's Syndrome has different needs than a person with Bipolar Disorder. Your trust should focus on your loved one's specific needs. As a fellow advocate named Brian Rubin who is the father of a child with Autism in Illinois likes to say, "if you meet one person with autism, you met one person with autism." Folks with disabilities are individuals, not a diagnosis.
Stephen W. Dale, LL.M, Esq.
The Dale Law Firm, PC
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Information provided by Rethink Autism, Inc.
The holiday season is usually a fun and exciting time, but it can be challenging for children with autism and their families.
While many of us enjoy the break from our usual routines, family get-togethers, special foods and other holiday events, children with autism may find these activities unpredictable and difficult to navigate. Rethink Autism, an educational technology company that produces online research-based treatment tools for parents and professionals, offers some suggestions and a free online set of video tips to help families address some of these challenges and enjoy the holidays.
For example, to prepare one's child for family get-togethers, consider creating a picture book beforehand that contains photos of family members and locations that you will be visiting. You can use this to review what will happen at these events and help your child practice the names of family members. One can also work on appropriate social behavior for specific family traditions in advance. For example, if you exchange gifts, have your child practice saying "thank you" and showing the gift to another person. Finally, if your family sings songs or plays games, consider setting up some practice opportunities at home beforehand. This may help your child feel more comfortable and participate in a meaningful way at the actual event.
To see free video-based demonstrations of how to work on these and other important skills, visit the Rethink Autism website (http://www.rethinkautism.com), join their Podcast, or view their YouTube channel.
This holiday tips video is part of Rethink Autism's weekly tips series that is free to sign up for, and has included tips on topics such as Expanding Language & Social Skills, Reducing Problem Behavior, and Building Independence with Daily Routines. The videos draw on Rethink Autism's library of over 1,200 video-based teaching steps that was developed by a leading team of autism educators, including Dr. Bridget A. Taylor, who is also Executive Director of the Alpine Learning Group.
"Our goal was to create a resource that's based on clinical best practices, but also easy for parents to understand and to implement in their everyday lives," says Jamie Pagliaro, Executive Vice President of Rethink Autism and former Executive Director of the New York Center for Autism Charter School.
Rethink Autism currently offers a variety of other free educational content to its community members, including live webinars with autism experts such as Dr. Peter Gerhardt, President and Chair of the Scientific Council for the Organization for Autism Research. Archives of past tips and webinars can be found on the Rethink Autism website.
Families, professionals and schools who subscribe to Rethink Autism's online treatment platform have access to an entire ABA-based video curriculum and training center, lesson plans for every skill in the library, and progress tracking so that every person in a child's life can participate in his or her development.
About Rethink Autism (http://www.rethinkautism.com)
Rethink Autism, Inc. seeks to ensure that every child on the autism spectrum has access to effective and affordable evidence-based treatment options by providing professionals, parents, and family members with the tools and information necessary to teach children with autism in a way that is easy to understand and apply. Rethink Autism was founded in 2007 and has its headquarters at 19 West 21st Street in New York City.
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