Assured
As·sured | ə-ˈshu̇rd
1: characterized by certainty or security
2: very confident
3: sure that something is certain or true
An Uncertain Future: Money Follows the Person (MFP) Program
Since it was established in 2005, the Medicaid Money Follows the Person (MFP) Program has given people with disabilities the choice between living in a long-term care facility or receiving care in their home or a community-based setting. MFP helps provide the...
Sole Benefit Trust: Qualify for Medicaid and Aid a Loved One
A sole benefit trust is a helpful estate planning tool if your family has cross-generational support needs. If a senior with more than $2,000 in assets wants to apply for Medicaid – but also wants to provide for a disabled relative – a sole benefit trust may be a good...
Ending Guardianship of an Adult
While a guardian can support the protected person by making important decisions, in some cases, an individual may wish to change or dissolve the arrangement. The ward, their family, or other involved people might feel that the guardian is not doing a good job. They...
A Totten Trust Can Protect Your Money for Your Loved Ones
Totten trusts, or payable-on-death bank accounts, are an estate planning tool that allows you to transfer money to a chosen person upon your death. When you make a Totten trust, you put funds into a revocable trust and designate a beneficiary to receive them. As the...
The Promises and Pitfalls of Home Ownership for People With Special Needs
People with special needs often require housing that accommodates their lifestyle. In many cases, group living facilities are called for, with the group environment providing stability and support. But in other cases, a person with special needs needs a very specific...
Housing Options for Adults With Special Needs
Fifty years ago, most people with even moderate special needs were institutionalized throughout their adult lives. Now, thanks in part to societal changes and decades of litigation, most people with special needs, including those with very severe special needs, live...
District Court Affirms Decision Denying Applicant SSI Benefits
The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Illinois affirms a decision by the Commissioner of Social Security denying Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits to an applicant claiming a disability based on ADHD, depression, mood disorder, bipolar...
Competitive Integrated Employment (CIE): Working With a Disability
Persons living with a disability have the right to engage in full-time, part-time work, or self-employment. In doing so, they should be able to be paid minimum wage and be part of an environment that has both disabled and non-disabled persons working together, with...
How To Prevent Loneliness – Regardless of the Cause
As the Carpenters sang many years ago, "Loneliness is such a sad affair." In 2022, over two years since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, we have learned much more about the effects of isolation...meaning loneliness makes life much harder. A recent study found that...
Remembering Lois Curtis, Famed Disability Rights Advocate
Lois Curtis – known as “L.C.” in a historic disability rights case — has died. She passed away from cancer at her home in November 2022 at age 55. Curtis, who had intellectual and psychiatric impairments, was institutionalized from her teenage years into her early...