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Florida Medicaid Planning and Elder Law Firm :: Solkoff & Associates ::
Finding Special Needs Counsel
The difference among attorneys can make a huge difference for the disabled individual. Few attorneys regularly practice in the area of special needs planning.
A greater number of attorneys create special needs trusts but most of them obtained a trust from a case conducted by a more experienced attorney and the less experienced attorney believes that this “form” can be reproduced and used for every person. Fortunately or unfortunately, there is no such thing as a special needs trust “form” and it is therefore important for experienced counsel to draft a trust appropriate for the specific person.
Changes in the law come rapidly in the area of special needs planning. There are state rules and laws and federal rules and laws, court decisions, agency decisions and new practice theories. Attorneys who do special needs trusts all the time are more likely to know of these developments.
The difference among attorneys, in special needs trust cases, has cost individual clients hundreds of thousands if not millions of dollars. An expert's fees may be more expensive but it is almost always worth it. Solkoff & Zellen, P.A. is often called upon to fix problems created by poorly drafted trusts or even to get rid of trusts that were not needed in the first place. Sometimes we can help but sometimes the damage has already been done. Nowhere else in our practice can the stakes be so high.
One good way to find qualified special needs counsel in Florida is to look for a Florida Bar board certified elder law attorney. Elder Law Attorneys help the elderly but some work with disabled people of any age. Few elder law attorneys act as special needs counsel but almost every top special needs attorney is also certified as a specialist in Elder Law. If you contact a certified specialist in Elder Law, that person will either be able to help you or will refer you to someone who can.
The Florida Bar has an Elder Law Section and names of certified specialists may be obtained at www.flabar.org or by calling The Florida Bar directly. This is one way to find a good special needs attorney. Another way to find qualified special needs counsel is to call my office. If we cannot ourselves assist you, we can refer you to someone who can (anywhere in the country).
If you require an attorney outside of Florida, contact my office and I can give you names of attorneys who can help. You may also contact the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys (NAELA). If there is a NAELA Board Member or officer in your state, contact that person and ask for a referral in your area.
This article Copyright 1999-2004 (and successive years of publication), Scott Solkoff. All Rights Reserved.
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Florida Medicaid Planning and Elder Law Firm :: Solkoff & Associates ::
Finding Special Needs Counsel
The difference among attorneys can make a huge difference for the disabled individual. Few attorneys regularly practice in the area of special needs planning. A greater number of attorneys create special needs trusts but most of them obtained a trust from a case conducted by a more experienced attorney and the less experienced attorney believes that this “form” can be reproduced and used for every person. Fortunately or unfortunately, there is no such thing as a special needs trust “form” and it is therefore important for experienced counsel to draft a trust appropriate for the specific person.
Changes in the law come rapidly in the area of special needs planning. There are state rules and laws and federal rules and laws, court decisions, agency decisions and new practice theories. Attorneys who do special needs trusts all the time are more likely to know of these developments.
The difference among attorneys, in special needs trust cases, has cost individual clients hundreds of thousands if not millions of dollars. An expert's fees may be more expensive but it is almost always worth it. Solkoff & Zellen, P.A. is often called upon to fix problems created by poorly drafted trusts or even to get rid of trusts that were not needed in the first place. Sometimes we can help but sometimes the damage has already been done. Nowhere else in our practice can the stakes be so high.
One good way to find qualified special needs counsel in Florida is to look for a Florida Bar board certified elder law attorney. Elder Law Attorneys help the elderly but some work with disabled people of any age. Few elder law attorneys act as special needs counsel but almost every top special needs attorney is also certified as a specialist in Elder Law. If you contact a certified specialist in Elder Law, that person will either be able to help you or will refer you to someone who can.
The Florida Bar has an Elder Law Section and names of certified specialists may be obtained at www.flabar.org or by calling The Florida Bar directly. This is one way to find a good special needs attorney. Another way to find qualified special needs counsel is to call my office. If we cannot ourselves assist you, we can refer you to someone who can (anywhere in the country).
If you require an attorney outside of Florida, contact my office and I can give you names of attorneys who can help. You may also contact the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys (NAELA). If there is a NAELA Board Member or officer in your state, contact that person and ask for a referral in your area.
This article Copyright 1999-2006 (and successive years of publication), Scott Solkoff. All Rights Reserved.
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Senate Committee on Aging Hearing: Sound Policy, Smart Solutions: Saving Money In Medicaid
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Among other items, the Senate Special Committee on Aging hears NAELA's concerns and proposed changes to Medicaid. View Hearing.
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NAELA publishes: Myths and Realities About Medicaid Planning
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The National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys published a concise and helpful list of Myths and Realities in Medicaid Planning. Among the Myths discussed, include:
1. "Medicaid planning is the fraudulent sheltering of assets done to help people become eligible for Medicaid."
2. "Elder law attorneys help rich people get Medicaid."
Read the full text of: NAELA Myths and Realities About Medicaid Planning.
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In The Matter of the George G. Barkema Finds Trust Responsible for Reimbursement to State
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The court in the case of In re Barkema Trust, 690 N.W.2d 50 (Iowa 2004), held that although the trust was a discretionary support trust, the beneficiary's interest was sufficient to make the trust principal liable for reimbursement to the state as part of the Medicaid recipient's estate. See Full Case.
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