The Latest from Susan Katzen

In stark contrast to previous Covid-19 relief bills, the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan, signed into law by President Biden on March 11, 2021, contains numerous provisions specifically aimed at supporting people with disabilities, especially those living at home with their parents or in need ...

President Biden has signed the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan into law.  Among its benefits are $1,400 checks that are already landing in the bank accounts or mailboxes of most Americans to help them weather the economic downturn caused by the pandemic.  Recipients with disabilities who rely ...

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has released final regulations covering tax-free savings accounts that allow people with disabilities and their families to save and pay for disability-related expenses without jeopardizing eligibility for Medicaid, Supplemental Security Income (SSI) and other ...

Social Security disability recipients will see an increase in benefit levels for 2021, although the rise will be the smallest in years due to the economic downturn caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.   On October 13, the Social Security Administration (SSA) announced that Social Security benefit le...

The U.S. Census, conducted once every 10 years, determines how more than $1.5 trillion in federal resources is allocated annually, including many programs such as Medicaid, special education funds, housing vouchers, and food and employment assistance vital to people with disabilities...

By their very nature, special needs trusts (SNTs) are usually designed to terminate, or at least radically change, when the trust's primary beneficiary dies. But terminating a special needs trust is not as simple as merely writing a check to the remainder beneficiaries and calling it a day. There...

In response to a trio of federal court decisions, the federal Department of Education (DOE) has rescinded regulations that attempted to shift additional stimulus funds to private schools, which would have shortchanged students with disabilities, advocates contended.  The Coronavirus Aid, Relief a...

The COVID-19 pandemic made mail-in-ballots the preferred voting option in the vast majority of states during the 2020 primaries, and it is likely to be the same in the November 3 general election. However, in their current form, most mail-in voting systems are not accessible to the blind and othe...

Those who apply for disability benefits and are initially rejected can appeal, and more times than not they end up winning their case.  But a new Government Accountability Office (GAO) report reveals that due to the years-long backlog of appeals, thousands of applicants for Social Security Disabi...

More than three dozen disability rights groups are urging Congress to end two burdensome waiting periods that Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) recipients must currently endure.  The groups sent a letter to both the Democratic and Republican party leaderships in June urging passage of p...

A new executive order from President Trump that would cut half of Social Security's funding threatens the program's financial foundation, disability advocates are warning. The Social Security program, including Social Security Disability Insurance benefits, is funded by two “payroll” taxes: a 6.2...

Many low- and middle-income families that do not typically file tax returns may have missed out on additional economic stimulus payments that they were eligible for by virtue of having children in the household.  Because of this, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced August 14 that it is t...

Among the challenges of raising a child with special needs is figuring out how to provide for that child once you're gone. If the child will never be able to earn a living, how can you determine how much of your own money to set aside for her care and support, and for the rest of her life? One wa...

The Trump administration has, for the second time, delayed compliance with new regulations designed to ensure the independence of people receiving services through Medicaid-funded Home and Community Based Services (HCBS) waivers. HCBS waivers are Medicaid's primary program for ensuring that peopl...

You may be thinking about setting up a trust to protect your assets, save on estate taxes, or perhaps set aside money for a special needs family member. Before you commit to a plan, make sure you understand the differences between the two basic types of trusts: the revocable (also called “living”...

For the past two and a half years, the Trump administration has been pushing states to adopt policies requiring certain Medicaid recipients to work in order to maintain eligibility for benefits. At every step along the way, courts have ruled that such requirements are illegal. Now, the administra...

People with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) living in group homes are four times as likely to contract COVID-19, and nearly twice as likely to die from it, a new study suggests. The infection rate for IDD group home residents in New York State, where the study was conducted, hit...

About one-fifth of people with disabilities are employed, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. In the best of times, employees with disabilities face significantdiscrimination in the workplace. As the economy gradually re-opens, employees with disabilities may be particularly vulnerable t...

Parents of a child with special needs know that they must plan for the child's care and support way into the future. This is especially so if the individual is unlikely ever to be able to earn an income. But what happens in cases of divorce? How does the issue of child support come into play, now...

A New Jersey man has been charged with stealing $330,000 from the special needs trust (SNT) of a man living in a long-term care facility.  The case highlights the importance of having a professional trustee manage an SNT. According to a criminal complaint filed by the FBI, in December 2017 Burlin...

A scion of the Kennedy family has pleaded guilty to embezzling nearly $8 million that was intended to purchase structured settlement annuities for children who were plaintiffs in medical malpractice cases. According to one structured settlement industry insider, the case offers another glaring ex...

In the best of times, those who care for a family member while also working can face difficulties balancing work and caregiving duties, and the service disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic have made things substantially more challenging.  New legislation introduced in the U.S. Senate would...

If a person with special needs has assets — perhaps from a lawsuit award or settlement or from a gift or inheritance – those assets can disqualify the person from receiving essential public benefits like Medicaid and Supplemental Security Income (SSI).  A special needs trust can allow the person ...

If you are injured because of someone else's negligence, you may have to resort to a personal injury lawsuit in order to obtain payment for the medical care you will need in the future and to compensate you for your pain and suffering. If your injury falls under the workers' compensation system, ...

The COVID-19 pandemic and the resulting economic recession have sparked fresh concerns about the long-term solvency of Social Security's trust funds.  The Social Security system is funded by payroll taxes, split equally between employers and their workers. Historically, Social Security collected ...