2015 Annual Update from the Stetson National Special Needs Trust conference

We just returned from the annual update on Friday, October 16, 2015 from Ken Brown and Eric Skidmore from the Social Security Administration at the National Stetson SNT conference.  Unlike years past, we actually got some good information and solid answers; at least in some areas.  There was still some of the vague: “we are looking into that” or “we are aware that is an issue” responses, but here are a few nuggets I took from the conversation.

The Regional Trust Review Teams that began operating in April 2014 have been busy. There are 167 members nationwide, on 14 teams, that have reviewed approximately 8,800 Trusts (not all are SNT’s).  They are receiving about 500 per month.  Each team has a Lead person and they are working to communicate concerns and training through the Leads to then disseminate the information out to the entire team.

A big concern raised is that when Social Security has a problem with an SNT and determines the trust to be a countable resource, the notice generally does not give a reason.  This makes it difficult to remedy the problem.  Unfortunately we do not have an answer to this concern yet.  Of the roughly 10,000 comments that Social Security uses in their library for their Notices, none really are capable of giving specifics.  It sounds like due to the volume of the trust reviews, SSA is not inclined to allow the case worker to free-form comment the reasoning.  A suggestion is that those of us out in the private sector may help SSA with some common reasons SNT’s may be denied and give that form language to SSA to incorporate into their systems.

A good portion of the conversation revolved around the ABLE accounts, which uncovered some incredible policy that SSA is considering.  The revelations were so substantial they warrant a dedicated posting.  Look for that posting very soon.

We are told Social Security is looking at the following areas:
-Payment of legal obligations out of SNT’s
-Transfers from a d4A to d4C SNT
-Crummey Trusts
-Decanting of Trusts
-Updates and clarifications to all of the Trust POMS – sections 1120.200, 201, and 203.  These updates are expected to be out in the next few months.

Watch for another posting soon on what I learned about SSA’s position on the ABLE account that will likely result in me recommending an ABLE account for EVERY beneficiary we work with that receives SSI benefits.













Travis D. Finchum, Esq.
Board Certified Elder Law Attorney
Co-Trustee, Guardian Trusts

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

(d)(4)(A) vs. (d)(4)(C) - The Great Debate

Image
We are seeing a lot of attorneys drafting d4A Special Needs Trusts for disabled beneficiaries under age 65 when they should use a Pooled Trust.  We administer both individual and our pooled SNT, so it doesn't really matter to us.  I will propose a thought that there is never a good reason to draft an individual SNT over our Pooled Trust.  The traditional arguments for drafting a stand alone (d)(4)(A) SNT over a pooled trust include:  1) I want to be the trustee (or name a family member), 2) I want the trustee to pay back the Medicaid lien and then the rest go to designated beneficiaries and 3) I want to invest the funds, or have my investment person handle the investments.  I will take each of these points in turn.  Individuals do not know how to administer trusts in general, let alone SNT's.  The federal law and policy is constantly changing, particularly for beneficiaries receiving S upplemental S ecurity I ncome, or SSI.  It is extremely difficult to keep up with these
Read more

2019 Social Security and Medicaid Income and Asset Limits

Happy New Year! We wanted to keep you updated with the 2019 eligibility figures for Medicaid and Supplemental Security Income (SSI).  The resource limit for a single person stays the same ($2,000) for SSI and long term care Medicaid programs. For a spouse at home of a person qualifying for long term care Medicaid (often referred to as the "community spouse"), the resource limit has increased to $126,420.  The income limit (maximum Federal benefit rate) for SSI is now $771 per month which then makes the Medicaid income limit $2,313 (always 3 times the SSI limit).  Medicare Part B monthly premiums have increased. According to  www.medicare.gov , the standard Part B premium amount will be $135.50 per month. However, most people will pay less. The monthly personal needs allowance for people on Medicaid in a nursing home remains at $130.  Finally, the home equity exclusion for Medicaid eligibility went up to $585,000.  For a chart of these figures click  here .
Read more
Image
Congratulations to Co-Trustee Kole Long on becoming Board Certified in Elder Law. Kole joins only 113 other Florida lawyers to hold this distinction. Board Certification recognizes attorneys’ special knowledge, skills and proficiency in various areas of law and professionalism and ethics in practice. Approximately 7% of all Florida lawyers are Board Certified in any specialty. In addition to serving as Co-Trustee for Guardian Trust, Kole is a practicing attorney with Special Needs Lawyers, PA which is the only law firm with 4 Florida Bar Board Certified Elder Law Attorneys. Help us to congratulate Kole for achieving this commendable honor!
Read more