Month: February 2017

Purposeful Parenting – It Works in My House

In my spare time, I do occasionally read through Facebook posts that show up on my timeline. A friend (from years past) posted an article about the negative impact of parents using sticker charts to reward their children. My comment was brief.

With whatever you as a parent may use in a new behavior strategy, you must have a plan in place to remove it.”

My mistake was that I was commenting on a post of a mother of typical children.  Her response was

“Hmmm, that’s an interesting term, ‘behavior strategy.’ I guess my strategy is just to treat to kids with respect and love.”

Now, I know this person.  I am not going to infer that by her comment she meant that I do not treat my kid with respect and love.  My parenting is purposeful or else my child with Autism can run off, get hurt, or worse.  One example of a parenting strategy I have used in the past is rewarding my son with stickers.

Years ago, my son rejected food due to tactile issues.

This was especially difficult for me as I come from a family who owned Greek restaurants.

Acropolis

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Food was quite important in my childhood. As a new mother, having a child who would not eat anything other than watered-down rice cereal was devastating and caused me much fear and anxiety.  The main fear was that his overall health could be affected.

An Autism consultant offered a solution – a reward system with a visible chart to indicate when my son ate a new food item.  The sticker charts were a success in encouraging my son to eat one new food item a week. This strategy took months; however, it worked for us. Currently we don’t use sticker charts for introducing foods and thankfully my son will eat most foods.

In my house, there are strategies and planning sessions to set and accomplish goals for my son.  No apologies for my version of purposeful parenting.

Backyard fun

Estate Planning – Protecting the Future Interests of Those You Love

Planning for the future of your loved ones in the event of your death is generally a difficult topic for many. Unfortunately, those of us who have family members with disabilities cannot afford to ignore estate planning. Many hours of hard work by parents and caregivers go into the qualification process for government benefits for our disabled children and relatives. Twenty-page forms to fill out and hour-long calls with multiple agencies are just a couple of examples of what parents endure to obtain essential benefits for their children. Rules for eligibility for State Waiver programs, SSI and Medicaid are confusing.

What parents, family members, and close friends do not want to see happen is the disqualification of eligibility of benefits. To avoid possible disqualification of benefits, I have seen grandparents attempt to do the right thing and disinherit certain grandchildren, out of love and out of a misguided attempt to protect their loved ones with disabilities from losing benefits. The law provides a better way to protect your loved one’s eligibility for benefits through Special Needs Trusts (“SNT”).

Special Needs Trusts can offer protection of assets and income. Special Needs Trusts allow friends and families to enhance the quality of life of a special needs beneficiary.

“Income” for most public benefits agencies is defined as:

(a) actual cash distributions to the individual, and
(b) distributions that could be converted to food and shelter, and
(c) in-kind support and maintenance.

The more practical trust that is utilized is a 3rd party Special Needs Trust. Parents and grandparents who leave an inheritance to a child with a disability will

(a) create a 3rd Party Special Needs Trust,
(b) obtain a Taxpayer ID Number from the IRs, and
(c) draft a Last Will and Testament naming the trustee of the SNT as the beneficiary.

If you do not have a Will, Texas Intestate Succession law could distribute your estate directly to your child, thus creating another scenario where government benefits could terminate.

Another “funding” source for a Special Needs Trust – If you or someone you know is anticipating the eventual relocation to a nursing home, applicants should review eligibility laws of the Texas Medicaid Program. The state has a “look back” period of 5 years to review transactions that may have been made to spend down an estate to reach eligibility for Medicaid. Many transfers of income and assets can subject the Medicaid beneficiary or applicant to a transfer penalty. There are certain transfers of assets that are not subject to penalty such as contributions to a Special Needs Trusts for a person under the age of 65 with a permanent and total disability. Another transfer example is payment to an attorney for estate planning.

Contact The Filis Law Firm for more information on Estate Planning that will be most suitable for you and your family.