Support clients with disabilities and their families with on-demand programs that focus on the real decisions you have to make in special needs planning. This collection covers core planning tools like special needs trusts, plus related topics that regularly drive outcomes in practice, including guardianship options, limited guardianships, and Medicaid planning tools.
You will also find deeper, skills-forward training on how to draft and administer special needs trusts while protecting eligibility for public benefits. Content includes guidance on public benefits eligibility and how programs count resources, along with common administration problems and practical solutions, plus best practices for trustees and advisors. If you want a structured set of sessions, the Special Needs Trust Web Series 2025 and the on-demand sessions from the 7th Annual Special Needs Institute provide targeted coverage across trusts, benefits and waiver programs, and housing.
All 4 Special Needs Trust 2025 sessions: - The Intersection of Special Needs Trusts and Guardianship Estates - Public Benefits and Special Needs Trusts - Common Problems and Solutions in Administering Special Needs Trusts - Best Practices for Special Needs Trust Administration
Acting as a trustee of a Special Needs Trust is complex and governed by numerous state and federal regulations. Every trustee needs a step-by-step guide to understand their duties under the ITC, duties to disclose and report to SSA and Medicaid, duties to account to beneficiaries and public benefits agencies, how to budget, invest and manage distributions (including using a TrueLink Card), and how to utilize care planning and care managers to fulfill their fiduciary duties. You will walk away from this presentation with helpful tips and checklists you can immediately put into practice for the benefit of your clients.
Administering Special Needs Trusts can be particularly problematic because it involves caring for beneficiaries with special needs and the risk of losing critical benefits. This program will cover the common problems attorneys encounter in administering special needs trust including finding a good trustee, managing the beneficiary’s expectations, handling distributions, handling a failed trust, and dealing with creditors. This program will also cover common solutions including decanting, trust termination, NJSAs, guardianships, changing trustees, as well as using pooled trusts, corporate trustees, trust protectors, care managers, and considering ABLE accounts as an alternative. Understanding the problems and solutions in administering special needs trusts will enable you to better advise your clients on creating a special needs trust in addition to solving problems after they arise.
Everyone knows that Special Needs Trust protect assets from being counted for public benefits eligibility, but which public benefits are doing the counting and how are they counting? The eligibility rules for each program are different and can feel like an endless wormhole to practitioners. End the confusion and learn the basics of eligibility for Medicaid, Medicare, SSI, SSDI, HUD, Link, and PASS. Understanding the eligibility rules for these programs will enable you to advise your clients on whether a special needs trust is right for them or a loved one.
