SPECIAL NEEDS AND ELDER LAW CLASSES

Elizabeth L. Gray presented the following Continuing Legal Education classes:

1. Fairness in Medicaid Special Needs Trusts and Planning with ABLE Accounts on March 4, 2017 at the Virginia Academy of Elder Law Attorneys (“VAELA”), the Virginia Chapter of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys (“NAELA”), Annual UnProgram, at the Boar’s Head Inn located in Charlottesville, Virginia.
   As of December 13, 2016, persons who are mentally capable are now able to establish their own self-settled special needs trust (SNT).  Before, this type of trust could only be established by a parent, grandparent, guardian, or a court. ABLE Accounts are tax-advantaged savings accounts for individuals with disabilities created by the passage of the Stephen Beck, Jr., Achieving a Better Life Experience Act of 2014. This class addresses these two new laws, the pros and cons, how these new special needs planning tools can best help your clients.
2. Understanding the ABLE Act webinar on March 20, 2017 through Virginia CLE.
   ABLE Accounts are tax-advantaged savings accounts for individuals with disabilities created by the passage of the Stephen Beck, Jr., Achieving a Better Life Experience Act of 2014. This class addresses how the ABLE accounts work, the pros and cons, how this new special needs planning tool can best help your clients.
3. Elder Law Basics 2017 through Virginia CLE on March 30, 2017 (Live Seminar), Video Replays on April 25 and April 27. Co-sponsored with the Virginia Academy of Elder Law Attorneys. This program was presented with Timothy K. Palmer, Esq. of Suffolk, Virginia.
   Elder law practice entails more than one thinks: the attorney plays a leading role in the resolution of a lot of interwoven problems that the elderly fact, only a few of which may be legal problems. This program is geared to practitioners who want to expand or refresh their knowledge of the field of advising the elderly. This includes Medicaid eligibility planning, estate planning, conservatorships/guardianships, removal of fiduciaries, nursing home litigation, drafting or correction deeds, taxation, insurance issues, and more.
4. On Tuesday, April 18, 2017, Elizabeth L. Gray reprised the program for Strafford Webinars that she previously presented in 2015 and 2016 on Special Needs Trusts for the Elderly and Disabled.
   Special needs trusts are an integral part of an elder law practice. To properly handle these trusts for clients, counsel must know when special needs trusts are appropriate, how to draft first-and third-party special needs trusts to protect public benefits for clients, and how to properly administer the trusts.
5. Structuring Special Needs Trusts as IRA Beneficiaries: Avoiding Tax Traps in Funding SNTs with Retirement Accounts,  a webinar on May 3, 2017 through Strafford Publications, given together with Scott K. Tippett of Greensboro, North Carolina.
   IRAs and retirement accounts may represent a significant portion of your assets and may be the natural source of funding a special needs trust. There are perils and pitfalls to naming a trust as the beneficiary of IRAs and retirements accounts. This program goes over the different rules, requirements, and structures necessary for naming a special needs trust as the beneficiary.