Category: ABLE accounts

Understanding the differences between ABLE Account and Special Needs Trust

Understanding the differences between ABLE Account and Special Needs Trust

Planning for the financial future of a loved one with special needs is crucial. Two essential tools in special needs planning are ABLE accounts and Special Needs Trusts (SNTs). Understanding the differences between an ABLE Account and Special Needs Trust will help you make the right choice.

An Achieving a Better Life Experience (ABLE) account is a valuable tool for people with disabilities. As Special Needs Answers reports, they can use it to save up to $18,000 annually starting in 2024. Unlike other accounts, this doesn’t deprive people of means-tested benefits.

ABLE account holders can save up to $100,000 tax-free and spend the funds on disability-related expenses. This covers assistive technology, transportation, education and even leisure activities. Account administration occurs at the state level, and eligibility is set to expand. While anyone disabled before age 26 qualifies now, the threshold will increase to 46 in 2026.

Likewise, individuals can open and manage their ABLE accounts. This provides much more financial independence than a Special Needs Trust (SNT).

A Special Needs Trust (SNT) is a legal document that provisions funds for disabled loved ones. Like the ABLE account, these funds don’t impact eligibility for Medicaid or SSI. An SNT can pay for items that government benefits don’t cover, including therapy, medical care, recreation and travel.

However, there are some limits. Without affecting benefits, SNTs generally can’t be used for essentials, like food and shelter. A Special Needs Trust also can’t cover cash payments or gift cards. Unlike an ABLE account, a trustee manages the SNT. This trustee works with special needs planners to maximize the trust’s value.

One of the main differences between ABLE accounts and Special Needs Trusts is their contribution limits. ABLE accounts are capped at $18,000 annually, with a total savings limit of $100,000. SNTs have no set contribution or savings limits but have tighter controls.

An individual manages their ABLE account. In comparison, a trustee manages an SNT in the name of a disabled individual.

Another critical difference is eligibility of the disabled person. For now, ABLE accounts are only available to people who became disabled before age 26. This is in contrast to SNTs, which have no age restrictions. An SNT is ideal for long-term asset management, while ABLE accounts offer flexibility.

Consult with an elder law attorney to have a full understanding of the differences between an ABLE Account and a Special Needs Trust. Choosing between the two depends on your family’s goals and needs. If you’re looking for a quick, easy, flexible way to save for a loved one’s disability-related expenses, an ABLE account might be ideal. However, a Special Needs Trust is better for long-term planning with no savings limits.

Key Takeaways:

  • ABLE Account: Offers flexibility and direct control for disabled individuals, with a $100,000 savings limit.
  • Special Needs Trust: Offers greater flexibility and long-term security but requires a trustee for oversight.
  • Planning is a Must: An ABLE Account or SNT may better fit your situation. Either way, you should begin planning sooner rather than later to protect your loved one.
  • Plan Ahead: Work with an estate planning attorney to decide which tool is best for your family.

If you would like to learn more about special needs planning, please visit our previous posts.

References: Special Needs Answers (Nov. 13, 2023) “ABLE Accounts in 2024: Save Up to $18,000 Annually”

Special Needs Answers (February 12, 2019) “What Can a Special Needs Trust Pay For?”

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The Estate of The Union Podcast

 

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The Estate of The Union Season 3|Episode 10

The Estate of The Union Episode 10

The Estate of The Union episode 10 is live!

In the newest installment of The Estate of The Union podcast, Brad Wiewel is joined by Melissa Donovan, Certified Elder Law Attorney and Director of Elder Law and Special Needs Planning to discuss ABLE accounts and how they work to protect the financial well-being of your special needs family member.

Families with loved ones with Special Needs have stresses and challenges that are difficult to measure. ABLE Accounts are a relatively new and innovative tool to use that can provide Special Needs loved ones with additional resources and help maximize their life style. The accounts allow eligible individuals to save money without putting their eligibility for government benefits at risk. The income from the account is not used for means testing for Social Security Income or Medicaid.

In each episode of The Estate of The Union podcast, host and lawyer Brad Wiewel will give valuable insight into estate planning, making an often daunting subject easier to understand.

It is Estate Planning Made Simple!

The Estate of The Union episode 10 can be found on Spotify, Apple podcasts, or anywhere you get your podcasts. Please click on the link below to listen to the new installment of The Estate of The Union podcast. The Estate of The Union Episode 9 out now. We hope you enjoy it.

The Estate of The Union Episode 10 out now

Texas Trust Law/Texas Trust Law focuses its practice exclusively in the area of wills, probate, estate planning, asset protection, and special needs planning. Brad Wiewel is Board Certified in Estate Planning and Probate Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization. 

Estate planning for couples with big age differences

Estate Planning for Couples with Big Age Differences

Estate planning becomes more complicated for couples with big age differences. Seniors who are married to younger spouses have a special situation for estate planning, a situation that’s become more common, according to Barron’s recent article “Couples with Big Age Gaps Require Special Attention.”

This kind of family requires planning for the older spouse’s retirement needs and healthcare costs, while determining how much of the older spouse’s wealth should go to the children from any previous marriages while balancing the needs of a future child with a younger spouse. Beneficiaries for all financial accounts, last wills and all estate documents need to be updated to include the new spouse and child. The same goes for medical directives and power of attorney forms.

Social Security and retirement account considerations differ as well. The younger spouse may begin receiving their own Social Security at age 62, or a portion of the older spouse’s Social Security, whichever is greater. If the older spouse can wait to file for Social Security benefits at age 70, the younger spouse will receive more spousal benefits than if the older spouse claims earlier. Social Security pays the survivor’s benefit, typically based upon the older spouse’s earnings.

Pension plans need to be reviewed for a younger spouse. If the pension plan allows a survivor benefit, the surviving spouse will receive benefits in the future. IRAs have different beneficiary distribution rules for couples with significant age differences. Instead of relying on the standard Uniform Lifetime Tables, the IRS lets individuals use the Joint Life and Last Survivor Expectancy Table, if the sole beneficiary is a spouse who is more than ten years younger. This allows for smaller than normally Required Minimum Distributions from the IRA, allowing the account a longer lifetime.

Families that include children with special needs also benefit from trusts, as assets in the trust are not included in eligibility for government benefits. Many families with such family members are advised to use an ABLE Savings Account, which lets the assets grow tax free, also without impacting benefit eligibility. There are limits on the accounts, so funds exceeding the ABLE account limits may be added to special needs trusts, or SNTs.

A trustee, who may be a family member or a professional, uses the SNT assets to pay for the care of the individual with special needs after the donor parents have passed. The child is able to maintain their eligibility.

For same sex couples, revocable or irrevocable trusts may be used, if the couple is not married. Nontraditional families of any kind with children require individual estate plans to protect them,  which usually involves trusts.

Trusts are also useful when there are children from different marriages. They can protect the children from the first marriage and subsequent marriages. Estate planning is more complicated for couples with big age differences. A wisely constructed estate plan can do more than prevent legal battles among children—they can preserve family harmony in the non-traditional family after parents have passed.

If you would like to learn more about estate planning for older couples, or those in second marriages, please visit our previous posts. 

Reference: Barron’s (July 27, 2021) “Couples with Big Age Gaps Require Special Attention”

Episode 8 of The Estate of The Union podcast is out now

 

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Who pays tax on a Special Needs Trust?

Who Pays Tax on a Special Needs Trust?

One of the reasons to use a Special Needs Trust (SNT) or open an ABLE account is to prevent federal or state benefits for a disabled person to be put at risk. The SNT is a way to hold property for someone without interfering with their eligibility. However, there are no tax advantages to the trust, according to a recent article titled  “How To Factor In Taxes When Considering Special Needs Trusts, Accounts” from Financial Advisor. So who pays the tax on a Special Needs Trust?

Tax results depend on who creates the trust, the terms of the trust and how it’s administered. The trust pays no taxes on any income it earns, as long as that income is passed on to the beneficiary. Trust tax rates are generally higher than individual tax rates. The income to the beneficiary will be taxable at their income tax rate. In some cases, all of the income of a trust might be taxed to the beneficiary, while in others the parent or person who created the trust might bear a tax burden, or the trust itself may be responsible for the tax liability.

An ABLE account is also a tax-favored vehicle, similar to a 529 college saving account. For a person to qualify for an ABLE account, they must have a disability that began before age 26 or be a recipient of Supplemental Security Income (SSI) or Social Security disability insurance benefits or meet other disability requirements.

The ABLE account will not reduce the major part of SSI benefits under the dollar-for-dollar SSI direct support rules, and it won’t be counted as an asset. The disabled person may also use their ABLE account to save earned income. The ABLE account can be inherited, and new rules allow funds in a 529 college savings account to be rolled into an ABLE account.

You can only contribute $15,000 a year to most ABLE accounts, and if the account plus other resources exceeds $100,000, SSI benefits will be suspended. These accounts must be managed carefully to protect eligibility.

The ABLE account varies, depending on the requirements and rules of the state where it is established. Some states offer additional tax benefits, if the person uses the ABLE accounts offered by their home state.

Depending on the state where you open the account, there can be deductions for contributions to an ABLE account. Earnings in the account are generally not subject to taxes, but the funds in the ABLE account may only be used tax-free for qualified expenses that result from living with a disability. Those include education, housing, employment training and special assistance.

The ABLE account is a useful financial tool for disabled individuals, but it does not completely replace a Special Needs Trust or trust planning.

When there are substantial funds, such as those from an inheritance, litigation settlement or a major gift, most estate planning attorneys recommend that those funds go into a Special Needs Trust. So remember that the person creating the trust pays the tax on a Special Needs Trust.

If you would like to read more about special needs planning, please visit our previous posts. 

Reference: Financial Advisor (July 12, 2021) “How To Factor In Taxes When Considering Special Needs Trusts, Accounts”

Episode 6 of The Estate of The Union podcast is out now

 

www.texastrustlaw.com/read-ou-books

Information in our blogs is very general in nature and should not be acted upon without first consulting with an attorney. Please feel free to contact Texas Trust Law to schedule a complimentary consultation.
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