King & Wood, P.A.

Retirees Need Six Legal Documents

“Retirees are dropping the ball over crucial legal documents.”

Around half of all retirees surveyed have a last will and testament. Most are without crucial legal documents, according to a recent article from MSN, “6 Legal Documents That Most Retirees Need—but Don’t Have.” Here’s what you need to know about these critical documents.

Medical Power of Attorney or Healthcare Proxy. This document gives another person the authority to make medical decisions for you if you can’t make the decisions and communicate them yourself. People wrongly assume their spouse or adult children will automatically be permitted to talk with healthcare providers. This is not true, and you don’t want to find out about this in the middle of an emergency. If you are seriously injured and want your loved ones to be involved in your care, your estate planning attorney can create a medical power of attorney with your wishes clearly expressed. A downloaded form may not be valid in your state, since each state’s rules are different. You may also have wishes different than standardized forms, so you’ll want a personalized POA.

Advance Directive or Living Will. This legal document helps medical professionals and your loved ones. It needs to be very clearly prepared to reflect your wishes for end-of-life care if you can’t express yourself. The document is used when an accident, illness, or other condition prevents you from responding. Do you want to be placed on a ventilator, be attached to an artificial heart and lung machine, or receive nasal feeding? These are not easy to contemplate. However, consider what your family will go through if they have to guess what you would have wanted. An estate planning attorney should create this document to be sure it is valid when it’s needed.

Financial Power of Attorney. The financial POA allows a person of your choosing to make financial decisions for you. No one likes to give up control of their assets. However, if you aren’t able to manage and there is no POA, the family will need to go to court and petition the court to have a guardian appointed. This takes time and can be costly. Having your estate planning attorney create a financial POA while preparing the rest of your estate plan is better than going to court.

The POA documents can be as specific or as general as you wish. Your estate planning attorney will have recommendations to best suit your situation.

HIPAA Waiver. Rules on sharing medical information are strict, and healthcare providers are trained to follow the rules, or their employer may face fines or lawsuits. A HIPAA Waiver or Release allows doctors and insurance companies to share information with the person you designate.

Funeral and burial arrangements. If you don’t outline your wishes, your family will do what they think is best, which may not be what you want. Some people don’t care. However, if you do, making these arrangements in advance will give you peace of mind and, in some cases, a sense of control over your final wishes.

Trusts. A trust is used to own assets designated for beneficiaries. It is used to move assets out of the probate estate, so they go through probate and can go directly to the named beneficiaries. Many people have trusts, so they have better control over their assets while living and after passing.

Like a last will, these documents must be reviewed and updated every three to five years. There are changes in our lives and tax laws. Make sure your wishes are reflected in your estate plan with regular reviews.

Reference: MSN (Feb. 24, 2025) “6 Legal Documents That Most Retirees Need—but Don’t Have”

Caregiving and Estate Planning Provides Peace of Mind for All Generations

“With so many responsibilities on a farming or ranching operation, caregiving plans can often get overlooked until it’s too late.”

If your goal is to keep the farm, ranch, or small business in the family, planning, including estate planning and caregiving, is the number one strategy to making it happen. Families may dissolve the farm or business without advance planning to pay for long-term care expenses. A recent article from AgWeek, “Caregiving plans can provide peace of mind for farming and ranching families,” explains what needs to be done.

Part of the issue is that most ranchers and business owners won’t qualify for Medicaid because they own a significant asset. Having to sell off something they’ve worked their entire lives to build is often a result of no planning.

If you have a long-term care insurance policy, it needs to be carefully reviewed to determine what conditions need to be met for benefits to be paid. For example, most policies have a “waiting period,” so you’ll need to plan how to pay for caregiving during the months before the policy kicks in.

There’s also confusion about the difference between Medicare and Medicaid. Medicare is health insurance for medical expenses, while Medicaid is usually used for long-term care and caregiving needs. However, Medicaid is a needs-based program. An estate planning attorney can help the family determine what needs to happen in advance, whether the goal is to protect the farm, ranch, or small business while helping the aging parent become eligible for Medicaid.

Estate planning includes planning for incapacity, which can occur at any time but is more likely as we age. Suppose the individual hasn’t completed a power of attorney, healthcare power of attorney, and other medical directives. In that case, the family will need to go to court to obtain conservatorship or guardianship to take over the person’s financial matters and make healthcare decisions on their behalf. An estate planning attorney can help the family prepare the documents and create a plan.

Having an estate plan in place is also another means of protecting the family’s assets from elder abuse. Everything needs to be documented, and records need to be well-organized so every family member knows where documents are, where assets are and the plan for the inevitable events of aging.

Meeting with an estate planning attorney to create the last will and testament, power of attorney and all other planning documents can minimize the stress and costs involved. Without planning, everything becomes far more complicated, costly and stressful for all concerned.

Reference: AgWeek (May 14, 2024) “Caregiving plans can provide peace of mind for farming and ranching families”

When Should You Take Social Security Benefits?

“The earlier you begin claiming, the less you'll receive each month. Your unique situation will help determine what age is best for you.”

The age you file for Social Security directly impacts your benefit. While some ages are better than others, there are important caveats to consider. A recent article from The Motley Fool, “Social Security: These Are the 2 Worst Ages to Take benefits, According to Experts,” explains it all.

You may file for benefits as early as age 62 or after that. For each month you can delay claiming benefits up to the age of 70, the monthly benefit increases. File at age 70, and you’ll get your full monthly benefit amount, plus a bonus of at least 24%.

Everyone’s situation is different, so there is no right or wrong time to claim. It depends on your financial, employment and health situation. However, research has shown some ages are better to start taking Social Security benefits than others. Two ages, in particular, are the worst times to file, but even they come with a caveat.

Researchers at United Income began studying retirees’ claiming decisions before examining how much they earned in benefits over a lifetime. Using the data from the study, which began in 2019, they determined how many claimed the best age to maximize lifetime benefits.

Only 4% of retirees made the optimal decision to earn as much as possible. According to the research, the average retired household will miss out on around $100,000 worth of lifetime Social Security income. A little more than half of all retirees could have earned more by waiting to age 70. Claiming at age 62 or 63 was the only optimal choice for 6.5% of retirees.

From a strictly financial viewpoint, 62 and 63 are the worst ages to begin taking benefits, as retirees who claimed at those ages were the least likely to maximize income. Nevertheless, there’s more to the decision than finances, and there are many situations when claiming early makes sense.

When filing for Social Security benefits at age 62, benefits are permanently reduced by up to 30%. The reductions could be brutal for those who depend on these benefits for most of their retirement finances.

If you have a robust retirement fund and don’t need the money from Social Security, claiming early could allow you to retire a few years sooner. However, many people don’t have the luxury of choosing when to retire. Social Security benefits can make retirement more affordable if you lose your job or health issues prevent you from working. It’s possible to retire in your 60s and delay filing for benefits, but this may mean taking more money from retirement accounts and depleting savings too quickly.

There’s no single right time, since everyone’s circumstances are different. If you can defer claiming until age 70, that’s great. However, consider the big picture when making this decision because there are many instances where claiming early makes the most sense.

Reference: The Motley Fool (Nov. 15, 2023) “Social Security: These Are the 2 Worst Ages to Take benefits, According to Experts”

Social Security has a Little Known “Do-Over” Clause

“In order to maximize your Social Security benefit, you first need to understand the four elements that factor into your payout. A little-known Social Security clause can be a silver lining for select baby boomers who regret claiming benefits early.”

Most seniors rely on Social Security benefits to make ends meet in retirement, says a recent article from The Motley Fool, “The Little-Known Social Security Do-Over Clause That’s a Must-Know for Baby Boomers.” While this under-the-radar item can help create a considerably larger Social Security payout, it comes with two catches and is unavailable for everyone.

Getting the most out of Social Security requires understanding how you are paid and the ins and outs of your own claiming decision.

Several factors impact how much of your Social Security benefit you get to keep. If you file early, you may be subject to the retirement earnings test. If you earn above a preset income threshold, you may have benefits taxed at the federal and/or state level. However, when you break Social Security down to the basics, four parts determine your benefits.

The first two are work history and earnings history. The Social Security Administration considers the 35 highest-earning, inflation-adjusted years when determining the monthly benefit. Workers must earn income for 35 years to avoid having a $0 averaged in by the SSA for each year less than 35.

The third factor is the full retirement age (FRA). This is when you become eligible for the 100% payout, determined by your birth year. Based on the retirement age charge, boomers' FRAs range between 66 and 67.

The fourth factor is your claiming age. For every year you wait to take benefits, your monthly payout rises by 8%, starting at age 62 and continuing through age 69. Taking benefits before your FRA means a permanent reduction of up to 40%, depending upon your birth year. However, if you can wait until after your FRA, you could increase your Social Security benefit by anywhere from 24% to 32%.

Social Security’s Annual Statistical Supplement shows that most retirees take benefits before full retirement age. As of 2021, 65% of the 47.29 million retirees took a permanently reduced monthly payout.

This is the optimal choice for many, meaning the selection generates the highest lifetime income from Social Security. For example, someone with chronic illnesses that shorten their life expectancy may benefit from claiming early. A lifetime low-income spouse could take their payout early to allow their higher-earning partners’ benefits to grow over time. This is a good way to generate household income while larger future benefits grow.

Historically, early claims don’t work out so well. A study released in 2019 found that just 8% of claimants at ages 62, 63, and 64 made an optimal choice. However, there’s a silver lining for some boomers and future retirees who may regret their early claiming decision, even though it comes with two catches.

The “do-over” clause is Form SSA-521, officially known as “Request for Withdrawal of Application.” This is a request to SSA to withdraw your benefits claim. If approved, the early claim is undone, and your benefits go back to accruing up to 8% annually through age 69. This is especially helpful for workers with little or nothing saved for retirement who took a reduced payout but ended up back in the workforce not long after. Boomers landing high-paying jobs may file SSA-521 and forgo their payout in favor of a higher Social Security payout a few years later.

However, there are two important restrictions. One, requests to cancel or withdraw the application can only be made up to 12 months after you start getting benefits. You can't use this form if you’ve been receiving benefits for 18 months. You can also only cancel your benefits application once.

Secondly, you have to pay back every penny in benefits you received in the 12 months leading up to filing Form SSA-521. This includes any benefits spouses or children may have received based on your earnings history.

While this little-known clause has limitations, it may offer select baby boomers a chance to start over if they took Social Security too early. It’s not for everyone, but it’s a must—know for all.

Reference: The Motley Fool (Aug. 27, 2023) “The Little-Known Social Security Do-Over Clause That’s a Must-Know for Baby Boomers”

When Should You Start Taking Social Security Benefits?

“Should you retire now and begin collecting your benefits, or hold off for a few more years?”

You don’t need to wait until age 67 to start collecting Social Security benefits, even though the Full Retirement Age is currently 67. You could, if needed, start collecting benefits as early as age 62, although there are some downsides to such an early start, according to a recent article from CNET, “When Is the Best Time to Begin Collecting Social Security Benefits?”

When you start collecting Social Security could impact your finances for the rest of your life. While the big Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA) in 2023 added more cash to every benefit, you might want to know if this is a reason to start collecting benefits this year.

There are pros and cons, and the best solution requires an honest and thorough look at your own financial situation, including other sources of retirement income.

First, how are benefits calculated? The Social Security Administration uses your average monthly earnings from up to 35 years to calculate your “primary insurance amount” or the benefit you’d receive at FRA (Full Retirement Age). This includes income up to the “taxable maximum” amount, which is $160,200 for 2023.

After determining the number of years, the years with the highest earnings are chosen, taking inflation into account. The sum of those earnings, divided by the total number of months worked during those years leads to a final resulting average, rounded down to the next lower dollar amount.

Your earnings are then indexed, so future benefits are reflected in the current standard of living to help offset inflation. This “average indexed monthly earnings” number is then used to calculate your monthly benefit.

If you are a spouse or an ex-spouse of someone who has contributed to Social Security through taxes, you might be able to claim part of their benefits, either receiving the spousal share of their benefit or a payout based on your own work history, whichever amount is greater.

The earliest you can start taking benefits is age 62, although you’ll receive a smaller amount than if you wait until FRA. Every situation is different, so there’s no single “best age” for everyone. The questions to ask are these: when do you want to retire, and when can you afford to retire?

When you can afford to retire depends on more than the savings you have accumulated. It also depends upon the lifestyle you want and where you’ll live during retirement. You’ll also want to consider your health and longevity. If you are living with a chronic illness, you may choose to retire earlier and collect earlier. It’s a very individual decision.

If Social Security is the sole or majority income source to pay expenses during retirement, waiting to retire and claiming benefits at a later date is likely your best choice. You’ll receive more money each month and have more time to save for retirement.

If you choose to retire early, benefits will be reduced for each month before FRA. If you were, for example, born in 1960 or later and retire at age 62 with a retirement benefit of $1,000, your monthly payment will be reduced to $700—a 30% reduction.

On the other hand, that’s $700 you would otherwise not receive if you weren’t taking Social Security benefits. Therefore, you might benefit from collecting smaller payments over a longer period of time.

Retirees need to monitor their spending and withdrawal rates, so they don’t outlive assets. Reducing spending and forgoing costly expenses like travel, especially when markets are down or inflation is high, can help extend retirement savings.

Reference: CNET (Feb. 25, 2023) “When Is the Best Time to Begin Collecting Social Security Benefits?”

Do You Lose Benefits If You Retire Early?

“Claiming Social Security before full retirement age (FRA) has consequences–namely, that you'll get stuck with a lower monthly benefit for life.”

Not everyone retires because they want to. A lost job, serious illness or large life change could put you into an early, unwanted, retirement. A recent article from USA Today titled “Forced to retire early? 3 things you can do to put off filing for Social Security” explores the options.

The first thing most people think of is taking Social Security benefits before Full Retirement Age (FRA), which has long-term consequences. The idea seems logical: by taking benefits, you’ll protect your retirement nest egg. However, you’ll receive a lower monthly benefit for life. Instead, consider a few alternatives.

Pursue a part-time job. If finding a full-time job doesn’t work, or if you aren’t physically or mentally able to work full time, a lower-stress part time job could fill in the financial gaps. Employers are eager to find qualified workers, in all kinds of workplaces. You might score a remote part-time job, which would be ideal if mobility is an issue. You may prefer a position where you interact with the public, like the greeter at big box stores. If you’re savvy enough to score a high paycheck, you might be able to get by on a different income level, while letting Social Security benefits grow.

Revise your spending significantly. Take a look at your cashflow. If you’re in a hot housing market, can you sell your current home and move into smaller quarters? Does your family still need two (or three) cars? If you’re among the average Americans who dine out at restaurants several times a week, a return to eating at home could help your budgeting. How many streaming services are you paying for every week?

In some instances, you can’t cut spending, especially for medical care. However, chances are there are some cuts you can make to help trim spending and reduce the withdrawals from retirement accounts, including IRAs, SEPs or 401(k)s.

Can your home create income? Monetizing your home can take a few different forms. Today’s reverse mortgages are not the same as they were thirty years ago. Depending on how much equity you have in your home, you might find the monthly checks help avoid having to take Social Security early.

Could you take in a roommate to help with monthly bills? Obviously, this step requires a lot of thought. However, if an additional $500 would tide you over, it might be a viable option—and you may enjoy the company. There are non-profit organizations that pair seniors with roommates. There are also online apps for people to rent out their fenced backyards by the hour to dog owners who need a safe place to play with their pets.

Knowing there are options can make financial stress a little less overwhelming. Do your homework and find what works for your situation.

Reference: USA Today (June 26, 2022) “Forced to retire early? 3 things you can do to put off filing for Social Security”

Does a Supplemental Needs Trust have an Impact on Government Benefits?

“For disabled persons receiving financially based government benefits, supplemental needs trusts (‘SNTs’) can safeguard benefits and serve as an effective estate planning tool.”

Supplemental Needs Trusts allow disabled individuals to retain inheritances or gifts without eliminating or reducing government benefits, like Medicaid or Supplemental Security Income (SSI). There are cases where the individual is vulnerable to exploitation or unable to manage their own finances and using an SNT allows them to receive additional funds to pay for things not covered by their benefits.

Having an experienced estate planning attorney properly create the SNT is critical to preserving the individual’s benefits, according to a recent article titled “Protecting Government Benefits using Supplemental Needs Trusts” from Mondaq.

Disabled individuals who receive SSI must be careful, since the rules about assets from SSI are far more restrictive then if the person only received Medicaid or Social Security Disability and Medicaid.

The trustee of an SNT makes distributions to third parties like personal care items, transportation (including buying a car), entertainment, technology purchases, payment of rent and medical or therapeutic equipment. Payment of rent or even ownership of a home may be paid for by the trustee.

The SNT may not make cash distributions to the beneficiary. Payment for any items or services must be made directly to the service provider, retailers, or other entity, for benefit of the individual. Not following this rule could lead to the SNT becoming invalid.

SNTs may be funded using the disabled person’s own funds or by a third party for their benefit. If the SNT is funded using the person’s own funds, it is called a “Self-Settled SNT.” This is a useful tool if the disabled person inherits money, receives a court settlement or owned assets before becoming disabled.

If someone other than the disabled person funds the SNT, it’s known as a “Third-Party SNT.” These are most commonly created as part of an estate plan to protect a family member and ensure they have supplementary funds as needed and to preserve assets for other family members when the disabled individual dies.

The most important distinction between a Self-Settled SNT and a Third-Party SNT is a Self-Settled SNT must contain a provision to direct the trust to pay back the state’s Medicaid agency for any assistance provided. This is known as a “Payback Provision.”

The Third-Party SNT is not required to contain this provision and any assets remaining in the trust at the time of the disabled person’s death may be passed on to residual beneficiaries.

Many estate planning attorneys use a “standby” SNT as part of their planning, so their loved ones may be protected, in case an unexpected event occurs and a family member becomes disabled.

References: Mondaq (May 27, 2022) “Protecting Government Benefits using Supplemental Needs Trusts”

When a Spouse Dies, Does Survivor Get Their Social Security Benefits?

“When you’re gone, your spouse’s income will take a major hit–one that can be worsened significantly, if you make the wrong decision about when to claim.”

Most people don’t understand how Social Security works for themselves or their loved ones. Here’s one major misconception: you can’t file early for Social Security and then get an increased level of benefits once you’ve reached Full Retirement Age, or FRA. This is one of many common errors, according to a recent article “When You Claim Social Security Can Have Huge Implications for Your Spouse” from Kiplinger. Once you’ve started taking benefits before your FRA, your lower level is set for life.

Another common error happens when married couples don’t understand how their benefits impact each other. If your spouse depends on your Social Security benefits to pay the bills, you both need to gain an accurate understanding of how surviving spouse benefits work.

Let’s that say a couple retires and both decide to take their Social Security benefits right away. One is 66 and the other is 62. The older, Pat, receives $3,000 monthly. The younger spouse, Penny, will receive $1,900. Their total household benefit from Social Security is $4,900. If Pat dies first, Penny will lose her own benefit and receive only Pat’s $3,000 monthly benefit. If this is the only income, Penny may face some serious financial challenges.

If Pat started taking benefits earlier than his FRA, at 64 instead of 66, his monthly benefit would be $2,625. If he were to start taking benefits at 62, his Social Security benefit will be even smaller. The reductions are permanent, and they also impact a surviving spouse’s monthly benefit.

What can you do to maximize your spouse’s survivor benefit? Wait for as long as you can to claim your Social Security benefits. For every year you wait, you earn an extra 8% in delayed benefits. These increases grow until age 70, at which point your Social Security benefit reaches the maximum.

Not everyone can afford to delay their benefits. However, when possible, it makes a big difference to the surviving spouse, who is statistically likely to be the female spouse. For couples who can afford to delay benefits, couples with significant age differences and couples where one of the two has exceptionally good health or comes from a family with longevity, this is a worthwhile approach.

Delaying benefits means the loss of benefits during the years until age 70. Forgoing several thousand dollars a month may not be possible for everyone.

If your surviving spouse won’t be able to make ends meet without both Social Security benefits, there needs to be a plan to somehow bridge the gap. How this is done depends upon the individuals and their families. Every situation is different. It is not an easy situation to address. However, one thing is certain: ignoring it will not make the problem go away.

Reference: Kiplinger (April 20, 2022) “When You Claim Social Security Can Have Huge Implications for Your Spouse”

What are the Current Gift Tax Limits?

“In 2017, Congress doubled the exemption starting in 2018, and the amount will continue to rise with inflation through 2025. This expansion helped reduce the number of taxable estates to about 1,300 for returns filed in 2020 from about 5,200 in 2017, according to the latest IRS data.

The expanded estate and gift tax exemptions expire at the end of 2025, which is not as far away as it seemed in 2017. For 2021, the lifetime exemption for both gift and estate taxes was $11.7 million per individual, and in 2022, an inflation adjustment boosted it to $12.06 million per person. The increase is set to lapse in 2025, according to the article “Estate and Gift Taxes 2021—2022: What’s New This Year and What You Need to Know” from The Wall Street Journal.

However, in 2019 the Treasury Department and the IRS issued “grandfather” regulations to allow the increased exemption to apply to earlier gifts, if Congress reduces the exemption in the future.

Let’s say Josh gives assets of $11 million to a trust to benefit heirs in 2020. The transfer had no gift tax because it was under the $11.58 million for 2020. If Congress lowers the exemption to $5 million per person and Josh dies in 2023, when the lower exemption is in effect, as the law now stands, the estate will not owe tax on any portion of his gift to the trust, even if $6 million is above the $5 million lifetime limit in effect at the time of his death.

Current law also has investment assets held at the time of death exempt from capital gains tax, known as the “step up in basis.” If Robin dies owning shares of stock worth $100 each, originally purchased for $5 each and held in a taxable account, the estate will not owe capital gains tax on the $95 growth of each share. The shares will go into Robin’s estate at their full market value of $100 each. Heirs who receive the shares have a cost basis of $100 as the starting point for measuring taxable gains or losses when they sell.

The annual gift tax exemption has risen to $16,000 per donor, per recipient, for 2022. A generous person can give someone else assets up to the limit every year, free of federal gift taxes. A married couple with two married children and six grandchildren could give away as much as $320,000 to their ten family members, plus $32,000 to other individuals, if they wished.

Annual gifts are not deductible for income tax purposes. They also do not count as income for the recipient. Gifts above the exclusion are subtracted from the giver’s lifetime gift and estate tax exemption. However, a married could use “gift splitting” to let one spouse make up to $32,000 of tax-free gifts per recipient on behalf of both partners. A gift tax return must be filed in this case to document the transaction for the IRS.

If the gift is not cash, the giver’s cost basis carries over to the recipient. If someone gives a family member a share of stock worth $1,000 originally acquired for $200, neither the giver nor the recipient owes tax on the gift. However, if the recipient sells, the starting point for measuring taxable gain will be $200. If the share is sold for $1,200, for instance, the recipient’s taxable gain would be $1,000.

For some families, “bunching” gifts for five years of annual $16,000 gifts to a 529 education account makes good sense. A gift tax return should also be filed in this case. Your estate planning attorney will be able to guide you in creating a gifting strategy to align with your estate plan and minimize taxes.

Reference: The Wall Street Journal (March 10, 2022) “Estate and Gift Taxes 2021—2022: What’s New This Year and What You Need to Know.”

What Is Best Way to Spend ABLE Account Money?

“ABLE accounts are a way for people with disabilities to save and spend money, while protecting their access to public benefits.”

An ABLE Account (Achieving a Better Life Experience Account) is a tax-advantaged savings account available to individuals diagnosed with disabilities. It lets them save without putting their public benefits at risk. Contributions to the ABLE account may be made by the account owner, family members, friends, trusts or any other person, as explained in the article “What Qualifies as Eligible Expenses for an ABLE Account?” from Investopedia. The money can be maintained in the account tax-free or spent on certain expenses, which are called “eligible expenses” or “Qualified Disability Expenses” (QDEs) and cover a broad range of goods and services. In some cases, figuring out if an expense meets the criteria is easy. However, in others, it is not so clear.

Typical QDEs include education, employment training, food, shelter, transportation, assistive technology, health, prevention and wellness, financial management of the ABLE account, including oversight and monitoring, legal fees, funeral and burial expenses. In all cases, keep detailed records of how ABLE funds are spent, just in case there is a dispute about whether an expense qualifies.

The law governing ABLE accounts does not spell out every single QDE. Sometimes the IRS or Social Security Administration will issue guidance to clarify whether an item is a QDE. The law says the term should be “broadly constructed to permit the inclusion of basic living expenses and should not be limited to items for which there is a medical necessity, or which provides no benefits to others in addition to the benefit to the eligible individual.”

Note that ABLE account funds may be used for a vacation, if it helps maintain or improve the health, independence, or quality of life for the disabled individual. The food category includes more than groceries: food delivery and restaurant meals are included.

A few tips:

• If in doubt, use non-ABLE money and save the ABLE funds for eligible purchases.
• Use public funds when possible. For instance, Medicaid may pay for transportation to a health care provider or educational programs.
• Keep extensive records, especially for items you are not sure about.

It is great for the disabled individual to have this much flexibility. However, it can also be confusing. An elder law estate planning attorney will be familiar with the guidelines and help ensure that the funds are used properly.

Reference: Investopedia (Feb. 25, 2022) “What Qualifies as Eligible Expenses for an ABLE Account?”