Special Needs & Disability

The 18th Annual Elder Law Short Course is designed for the Illinois elder law attorney who is dedicated to client service and eager to stay on the cutting-edge of legal issues affecting elderly clients and their families.

Get updates on tax planning for the elderly, updates on the Illinois Trust Code and Remote Signature Act, and the annual judges’ panel. In addition, you’ll get the latest on advising your clients about Medicaid (planning and application), preparing for a guardianship trial, divorce in guardianship, and much more!

A panel of judges discuss how to appear for court over Zoom, proper courtroom decorum, attire and presentation, and an explanation about local rules, standing orders, and how to properly complete an Order.

Insight on running for judge, elections, judicial appointments, and the associate judge process in Cook County.

Divorce involving the parents of a child with special needs is far more complicated than the divorce of parents of children without special needs. In this session, you will learn how to protect government benefits and how to obtain adult child support, among other important factors.

Originally presented as part of the 5th Annual Special Needs Institute

Attorneys who prepare special needs trusts may be called in by personal injury attorneys to provide advice regarding the type of trust to use, allocation of a settlement, options for provision of support, the need for or eligibility for public benefits, management of liens and claims, investment models, and taxation. This presentation will provide an outline of the techniques crucial to providing this type of advice to these attorneys and the individuals and families that they represent, including an overview of Qualified Settlement Funds (QSF’s) and Medicare Set-Asides (MSA’s).

Originally presented as part of the 5th Annual Special Needs Institute

Learn about Social Security Administration’s trust policy updates and review process for determining SSI eligibility.

What cases should commence in the Mental Health court vs. Guardianship, when should the matter convert from one to the other, should it ever be in both courts? This session will examine an overview of the Mental Health court process and when it’s appropriate. We will also discuss handling residential placements if a Ward is unwilling to leave their home.

Join us for a discussion of options relating to surrogate decision making including, but not limited to, guardianship. This will include a brief discussion of the “basics”, followed by an in-depth look at non-routine issues (i.e., those issues that don’t often arise, but when they do you will be glad you attended this session!). As an unrelated topic, we will also explore the evolution of ABLE since its inception in 2014 and ideas on how to make the most of ABLE accounts for your clients.

This informative session will cover: SSI, SSDI, Medicare, Medicaid and Waiver programs. To ensure your client can obtain all of the benefits for which they appear eligible, it is vital to understand the benefit programs, their current rules and how they change over a lifetime.

Special needs planning is not just a third party and/or a first party special needs trust. It is not just estate planning. In this session, you will learn the basics of drafting a special needs trust, including suggestions for helpful additional provisions to include. You’ll also learn how to effectively prepare for and conduct the initial consultation, including topics you should cover in addition to estate planning, such as the who, what, why, where and how of accessing the Illinois “maze” of services for individuals with special needs.

Explore the basics of Illinois Medicaid - the who, what, where, why - and how they fit in with the other three major government benefit programs. Some complex topics such as spend-down, redeterminations, and the Qualified Medicare Beneficiary Program will be discussed.