Giarmarco Book Review: Special Needs Book by Sebastian Grassi

      Almost every estate planner has undoubtedly come across clients who have a special needs (disabled) child or grandchild. Planning for the future needs of a special needs individual requires an in-depth understanding of state and federal laws as they pertain to government benefits and legal documents. There are also important financial matters and family issues to consider. In A Practical Guide to Estate Planning for a Family with a Special Needs Child, ALI-ABA Philadelphia, PA (2009), 202 pages, $159, (800) 253-6397 (www.ali-aba.org/aliaba/BK68), Sebastian V. Grassi, Jr. lends his considerable talents to a book on the tax and non-tax issues involved in special needs planning. And who better to address these issues than Mr. Grassi - a nationally recognized estate planning attorney, the father of a special needs child (Laura) himself, and the author of two other best selling estate planning books (A Practical Guide to Drafting Marital Deduction Trusts (With Sample Forms and Checklists), (www.ali-aba.org/aliaba/BK36); and A Practical Guide to Drafting Irrevocable Life Insurance Trusts (With Sample Forms and Checklists) - Second Edition, (www.ali-aba.org/aliaba/BK45)). Both books are also published by the ALI-ABA, Philadelphia, PA (800) 253-6397.

      Mr. Grassi's new book offers important information in clear, easy-to-understand language. Written as a desk reference guide, rather than a comprehensive treatise, the book includes "practice points," "cautions," numerous cites to other resources to assist the reader, as well as many useful forms and checklists. Throughout his book, Mr. Grassi shares his years of experience and understanding in advising special needs families. The book does an excellent job of integrating the legal and technical issues involved in special needs planning with the personal issues faced by the parents and siblings of a special needs individual.

      Topics include a general overview of the four government benefits available to a special needs individual (Supplemental Security Income ("SSI"), Medicaid, Social Security and Medicare); how to design an estate plan that does not disqualify the special needs individual from means-tested government benefits (SSI and Medicaid); how to design, administer and select the trustee of a special needs trust; a description of the five essential estate planning documents a special needs family should have; and the "soft side" issues of dealing with special needs families. A lengthy chapter deals with how to use and design Medicaid Payback Trusts, and Pooled Account Trusts. The book also discusses in some detail the all-important definition of "income" for determining and maintaining SSI and Medicaid benefits.

      The book contains several checklists, including 15 issues an attorney must address in drafting an estate plan for a special needs individual, and 16 common assets and beneficiary designations that parents of a special needs child must review to assure that their assets will not be paid directly to the special needs child, thereby rendering the child ineligible for government benefits. I expect that many readers will find, as I did, these checklists to be of particular relevance.

      The Appendixes to the book include: a case study with discussion issues (Appendix 1); a sample third-party special needs trust (Appendix 2); a sample first-party Medicaid Pay Back Trust (Appendix 3); an outstanding and detailed overview of the entire subject matter prepared by noted special needs attorneys, Andrew H. Hock and Sandra L. Smith of Portsmouth, Virginia (Appendix 4); and a complete analysis of estate planning for retirement benefits for a special needs individual co-authored by Mr. Grassi and noted retirement benefits attorney, Nancy H. Welber, of West Bloomfield, Michigan.

      Few attorneys in the country could bring together the technical and personal issues involved in special-needs planning like Mr. Grassi has in this book. For anyone involved in advising special needs families, this book will be a timely and easy-to-access resource. As he has demonstrated with his other two books, Mr. Grassi's advice is comprehensive, concise, and practical. In short, A Practical Guide to Estate Planning for a Family with a Special Needs Child is well worth having, and will be a handy and valuable reference on the desks of advisors and attorneys engaged in representing clients with a special needs loved one.