Hello All!
We will be a part of a new, fabulous workshop at Houston Community College (5601 West Loop South) in late September through early October. Attorney Leona Filis will be presenting on Estate Planning strategies.
Click the link below for the details.
Good morning! We are getting ready for our joint presentation with Blake Douglas.
Estate Planning – whether you are a college student or grandparent, there are legal documents to assist you and your loved ones in stressful times of need.
Thank you Barbara Pardue for the fabulous Facebook event design.
https://www.facebook.com/events/794520557363555/
See you at the office building 5600 NW Central Drive – large conference room on the 1st floor at 2 pm.
In my spare time, I do occasionally read through Facebook posts that show up on my timeline. A friend (from years past) posted an article about the negative impact of parents using sticker charts to reward their children. My comment was brief.
With whatever you as a parent may use in a new behavior strategy, you must have a plan in place to remove it.”
My mistake was that I was commenting on a post of a mother of typical children. Her response was
“Hmmm, that’s an interesting term, ‘behavior strategy.’ I guess my strategy is just to treat to kids with respect and love.”
Now, I know this person. I am not going to infer that by her comment she meant that I do not treat my kid with respect and love. My parenting is purposeful or else my child with Autism can run off, get hurt, or worse. One example of a parenting strategy I have used in the past is rewarding my son with stickers.
Years ago, my son rejected food due to tactile issues.
This was especially difficult for me as I come from a family who owned Greek restaurants.
Food was quite important in my childhood. As a new mother, having a child who would not eat anything other than watered-down rice cereal was devastating and caused me much fear and anxiety. The main fear was that his overall health could be affected.
An Autism consultant offered a solution – a reward system with a visible chart to indicate when my son ate a new food item. The sticker charts were a success in encouraging my son to eat one new food item a week. This strategy took months; however, it worked for us. Currently we don’t use sticker charts for introducing foods and thankfully my son will eat most foods.
In my house, there are strategies and planning sessions to set and accomplish goals for my son. No apologies for my version of purposeful parenting.
Planning for the future of your loved ones in the event of your death is generally a difficult topic for many. Unfortunately, those of us who have family members with disabilities cannot afford to ignore estate planning. Many hours of hard work by parents and caregivers go into the qualification process for government benefits for our disabled children and relatives. Twenty-page forms to fill out and hour-long calls with multiple agencies are just a couple of examples of what parents endure to obtain essential benefits for their children. Rules for eligibility for State Waiver programs, SSI and Medicaid are confusing.
What parents, family members, and close friends do not want to see happen is the disqualification of eligibility of benefits. To avoid possible disqualification of benefits, I have seen grandparents attempt to do the right thing and disinherit certain grandchildren, out of love and out of a misguided attempt to protect their loved ones with disabilities from losing benefits. The law provides a better way to protect your loved one’s eligibility for benefits through Special Needs Trusts (“SNT”).
Special Needs Trusts can offer protection of assets and income. Special Needs Trusts allow friends and families to enhance the quality of life of a special needs beneficiary.
“Income” for most public benefits agencies is defined as:
The more practical trust that is utilized is a 3rd party Special Needs Trust. Parents and grandparents who leave an inheritance to a child with a disability will
If you do not have a Will, Texas Intestate Succession law could distribute your estate directly to your child, thus creating another scenario where government benefits could terminate.
Another “funding” source for a Special Needs Trust – If you or someone you know is anticipating the eventual relocation to a nursing home, applicants should review eligibility laws of the Texas Medicaid Program. The state has a “look back” period of 5 years to review transactions that may have been made to spend down an estate to reach eligibility for Medicaid. Many transfers of income and assets can subject the Medicaid beneficiary or applicant to a transfer penalty. There are certain transfers of assets that are not subject to penalty such as contributions to a Special Needs Trusts for a person under the age of 65 with a permanent and total disability. Another transfer example is payment to an attorney for estate planning.
Contact The Filis Law Firm for more information on Estate Planning that will be most suitable for you and your family.
Is your child nearing his or her 18th birthday? What does this mean for them and what does this mean for you?
The State of Texas recognizes your child as an adult when you child turns 18 years old. He or she can enter into contracts and attend ARDs alone. You as the parent will lose your status as the natural guardian of your child and lose the right to be noticed for your child’s school ARD meetings. You may be excused from your child’s doctor’s exam room.
If your child’s capacity level is such that a Power of Attorney is not an acceptable option, look into Guardianship. Guardianship of the Person can offer you legal rights to protect your child.
Attached is the Harris County Clerk’s filing fee schedule for costs Fee Schedule for a list of court costs. Note there are ad litem and attorney fees to consider.
The Texas Department of Aging and Disability Services (DADS) offers a handbook on Guardianship – Guardianship Brochure.
Feel free to contact me for more information on planning for your child’s future.
Many parents with children with special needs rely on the Texas Department of Aging and Disability Services (DADS) for Medicaid Wavier Programs and other supports and services. A timeline of changes is provided below.
The Texas legislature approved and passed Senate Bill 200, making it law last summer, but what does that mean for DADS? In the 1st phase, Texas Health and Human Services Center (HHSC) will have transferred to its control select function of the Department of Assistive and Rehabilitative Services (DARS), client services of the DADS and the Department of State Health Services (DSHS). and administrative services of the Texas Health and Human Services (HHS) system, set for September 1, 2016.
Further, DARS is scheduled to be abolished September 1, 2016.
The 2nd Phase includes the abolishment of DADS September 1, 2017.
For more information of the transformation of the Texas Health and Human Services Commission, click on the link below.
http://www.hhsc.state.tx.us/hhs-transformation/docs/transition-plan.pdf
The Center for Disease Control (CDC) issued a Press Release today regarding its findings from data collected by the CDC’s Autism and Developmental Disabilities Monitoring (ADDM) network. The report shows no change in the autism spectrum disorder prevalence from the previous report in 2014.
According to Dr. Stuart K. Shapira, chief medical officer for CDC’s National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities,
The most powerful tool we have right now to make a difference in the lives of children with ASD is early identification.
The CDC has more information at www.cdc.gov/Autism.
Knowing that you must prepare for your child’s future is nothing new. Knowing how to properly plan for your child’s future when he or she is diagnosed with a disability is confusing and frustrating. The wait on Interest Lists for Medicaid Waiver Programs can be up to ten years. Once you finally start to receive benefits, you have to have a plan in place to maintain the benefits. That is where Special Needs Trusts and ABLE Act accounts (529A) can be fantastic resources for your estate planning.
Another planning consideration for parents of children with special needs is insurance. Life Insurance to truly cover expenses for of lives of your loved ones. Life Insurance should not just cover the “breadwinner” parent. In the event the care-giver parent dies, the family must hire others to continue to provide appropriate care for the child or children with special needs.
Unfortunately the insurance discussion does not end with life insurance. If the “breadwinner” parent becomes disabled, he or she may become underemployed or unemployed and disability insurance can help.
As a member of Heights Go Givers (HGG), I have had many opportunities to meet with professionals from the Heights and surrounding area on a weekly basis. Over the past few months I have had the pleasure of learning about the character and professionalism of Michelle Gessner of gessnerwealthstrategies.com. Substantively, Michelle has proven herself to be very knowledgeable, both in one-on-one discussions and as a speaker at conferences and meetings I have attended. If you are looking for a brilliant, compassionate, and disciplined advisor, contact Michelle.