Flax Law

THE BRITTNEY SPEARS CONSERVATORSHIP CASE RAISES CONCERNS THAT HER RIGHTS WERE OVERLOOKED BY ALL First, by way of background -- in California -- the legal term for guardianship is conservatorship and the term is used for both a conservatorship of a person or their property. In Massachusetts we have two terms – we use the term guardianship for a guardianship of a person and we use the term con...

Special Needs Trusts – Why? Are they all the same? Why would you create a Special Needs Trust? A special needs trust is created to coordinate with governmental benefits so that a person receiving governmental benefits can continue to have access to funds that will help them throughout their lives. Supplemental Security Income (SSI) is a benefit prog...

Special Needs Transition to Adulthood - An Important but Often Overlooked Step Applying for a Section 8 Housing Subsidy In Massachusetts, families often consider applying for guardianship and for Supplemental Security Income(SSI) for their special needs child who is turning eighteen years old. Many do not realize that they should also be placing their adult child on the Sectio...

The SSI recipient and the value of an ABLE Account History of the ABLE Account Legislation If you or your family member is on Supplemental Security Income “SSI” due to a disability, the federal government allows you to have resources valued up to $2,000.00 (or $3,000.00 if married.) When an individual receives SSI, they are also automatically el...

Massachusetts Estate Planning Info --- Part One What happens to a person’s property when they die? The distribution of the deceased’s property usually goes through probate. Probate is a process where a Petitioner (usually the deceased’s relative) asks the Probate Court to approve the will or designate the heirs of the deceased. They also se...