eCourses

An overview of the basics of special needs trusts and public benefits including selection of appropriate trust option, pitfalls to avoid and case examples.

Includes: Video Audio Paper Slides

Gain insight on the topic of the termination of the special needs trust when a beneficiary passes away and there is a Medicaid lien owed. Hear the basics of the requirements of the Medicaid pay-back provision, how to contact the Texas Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC) to verify the Medicaid lien and obtain the lien payoff, and the process of settling the lien with the agency.

Includes: Video Audio Slides

Learn about the tax-advantaged Texas Achieving a Better Life Experience Program (Texas ABLE®), a disability savings program created specifically for Texans with qualifying disabilities. This session takes a deeper dive into all things Texas ABLE—from how to open and manage a Texas ABLE account to discovering ways eligible individuals with disabilities and their families are using the accounts, all while helping to preserve state and federal means-tested benefits, including SSI and Medicaid. The session also highlights upcoming legislative changes including the Age Adjustment Act and its impact on program eligibility.

Includes: Video Audio Paper Slides

Buying a home for an SNT beneficiary can be one of the largest and most consequential purchases an SNT trustee will make during the lifetime of the trust. In this session, review procedures, considerations, best practices, and potential pitfalls for SNT trustees as they navigate the home-buying process.

Includes: Video Audio Paper Slides

Address the basic requirements for special needs trusts, common errors in drafting, the requirements for reforming a trust versus modifying a trust, and the benefits for reformations.

Includes: Video Audio Slides

This presentation covers recent changes to HUD housing programs that impact how income and assets are calculated for families. Learn about the new law and analyze the key updates to better inform your clients. Additionally, the session provides guidance on recertifying tenant income to ensure compliance with the updated regulations and current creative housing trends such as the use of Accessory Dwelling Units.

Includes: Video Audio Paper Slides

In the early days of special needs planning, “supplemental” needs trusts were intended to do just that: provide funds for quality of life enhancements for a person whose primary needs would be met by a wellfunded system of supports. Today, at a time when parents and caregivers are aging and dying, and where Medicaid funded programs are a shell of what they used to be, funds left in trust for a person with a disability will often serve as a primary source of long term support. This presentation highlights the benefits of case management and advocacy services in identifying and addressing the challenges faced by a trustee managing funds in a discretionary trust for a disabled beneficiary whose formal and informal support networks are changing.

Includes: Video Audio Slides

Explore drafting strategies to prevent litigation. A drafting attorney and a litigation attorney deliberate the right words, communications, and approaches to provide clear legal drafting, forestall conflicting interpretations and avoid future disputes.

Includes: Video Audio Paper Slides

Discuss how to identify what benefits your client has; what additional benefits they may be eligible for; what distributions by a trustee (or anyone) will make them ineligible; and what distributions will keep them eligible for those benefits.

Includes: Video Audio Paper Slides

A review of the Medicare Program Part A, Part B, Part C, and Part D including recent changes in Part D.

Includes: Video Audio Paper Slides

A review of recent cases from around the country impacting special needs trusts, trustees and trust beneficiaries.

Includes: Video Audio Paper Slides

Focus on the uses of Sole Benefit Trusts, including distinguishing them from other types of special needs trusts. It will include practical application, hypothetical situations, and sample language.

Includes: Video Audio Paper

Attorneys and trustees need to clearly understand their ethical obligations. Using the Jeopardy game show format, in this interactive session, the presenters cover various ethical issues encountered in a special needs practice, providing the answers while the audience provides the questions.

Includes: Video Audio Slides

The centralization of SSI trust reviews business process celebrated its 10-year anniversary in 2024. This session provides a look back, including improved quality, accurate and consistent trust determinations, and technical proficiency of employees. In addition, hear the latest regarding the legal opinion process, early termination, 90-day amendment period, and updates to the trust POMS.

Includes: Video Audio Slides

This presentation unpacks the case study of The Center for Special Needs Trusts Administration to better understand what happened and explores the deviations from best practices in pooled trust administration. Also, discuss safeguards for beneficiaries with disabilities, standards for trust administration, and what checkpoints to look for in a pooled trust’s operations.

Includes: Video Audio Slides

A basic overview of tax issues relating to the administration of special needs trusts, including those created by court order.

Includes: Video Audio Paper Slides

Most special needs trusts will be depleted long before the end of a beneficiary’s life. To protect a child with disabilities for life, a plan may need to consider a full 100 years. To protect an adult, a plan may need to consider 50 years or more. This session highlights projections, distribution plans, changes in circumstances, age-based changes, trustee continuity, administration costs, and funding (not wasting a penny).

Includes: Video Audio Paper Slides

Changing trustees can be easy or complex, depending on the type of trust, the assets of the trust estate, and a variety of other factors. Discuss the process for changing trustees, as well as potential obstacles,

Includes: Video Audio Paper Slides

Session 01: Public Benefits Overview and Key Concepts - Hear an overview of the different public benefits programs that may impact a special needs client, and explore Texas-specific waivers as well as federal and state regulations. Session 02: Special Needs Trusts 101: The Basics - An overview of the basics of special needs trusts and public benefits including selection of appropriate trust option, pitfalls to avoid and case examples. Session 03: The Ethics of SNT Administration - In this session, the presenters review the decisions a trustee makes in administering a trust, the standards a trustee should use in making decisions, and a framework to make sure the trustee’s decisions and actions are ethical. Session 04: Redlining the Basics with 1st Party SNT - Dissect a basic first-party SNT to highlight best practices with various key provisions, a walk-through relevant POMS provisions, and other practical tips in evaluating the use(s) of a first-party SNT. Session 05: Maximizing Public Benefits - Discuss how to identify what benefits your client has; what additional benefits they may be eligible for; what distributions by a trustee (or anyone) will make them ineligible; and what distributions will keep them eligible for those benefits. Session 06: Working Together: Texas ABLE Accounts and Special Needs Trusts - Learn about the tax-advantaged Texas Achieving a Better Life Experience Program (Texas ABLE®), a disability savings program created specifically for Texans with qualifying disabilities. This session covers specifics about Texas ABLE and how it can be used in conjunction with Special Needs Trusts, while helping to preserve state and federal means-tested benefits, including SSI and Medicaid. Learn how recent regulatory and legislative developments have continued to expand the flexibility and impact of ABLE accounts. Session 07: Initial Client Meeting Guidance and Resources - Exploring the art of focusing client appointments and staying on track. Session 08: Sole Benefit Trusts: What, When, and Why - Focus on the uses of Sole Benefit Trusts, including distinguishing them from other types of special needs trusts. It will include practical application, hypothetical situations, and sample language. Session 09: A Quick Trust Tax Tutorial - You don’t need to be a tax lawyer, but every special-needs planner should know at least the basics of trust income tax. Explore key rules in an accessible way for non-tax practitioners. Session 09: SSA Regional Trust Leads Presentation Regarding SSI Trusts - The centralization of SSI trust reviews business process celebrated its 10-year anniversary in 2024. This session provides a look back, including improved quality, accurate and consistent trust determinations, and technical proficiency of employees. In addition, hear the latest regarding the legal opinion process, early termination, 90-day amendment period, and updates to the trust POMS. Session 11: Special Needs Trusts Ethics Jeopardy - Attorneys and trustees need to clearly understand their ethical obligations. Using the Jeopardy game show format, in this interactive session, the presenters cover various ethical issues encountered in a special needs practice, providing the answers while the audience provides the questions.

Includes: Video Audio Paper Slides

The panel addresses practical concerns commonly faced by practitioners in the estate planning area, including hot-button issues stemming from recent cases, rulings, and regulations. Gain insight into how current "hot" estate planning techniques are being used in the trenches.

Includes: Video Audio Paper