ChSNC flashcards

32 cards. Read the term and the definition here. The deck at the top of this page is optional.

Lifetime planning

A continuous process that starts at diagnosis and is revisited at each life transition, including school exit, employment, residential change, and caregiver incapacity or death.

Impairment vs disability

An impairment is a physical or mental condition; a disability is that impairment interacting with environmental barriers. Eligibility for benefits depends on the specific program's definition, not the diagnosis alone.

Transition planning age

Under U.S. special education law, an individualized education program must include transition planning no later than the first IEP in effect when the student turns 16; many states begin earlier.

Childhood SSI standard

A child qualifies for Supplemental Security Income only by meeting the Social Security Administration's childhood disability standard of marked and severe functional limitations, plus household income and resource limits.

Disabled adult child benefits

Social Security benefits paid on a parent's record when the disability began before age 22 and the parent is deceased, retired, or disabled; these benefits are not means-tested.

Letter of intent

A non-binding document describing the person's history, preferences, routines, medical needs, and caregivers. It complements but does not replace a will, trust, or guardian nomination.

Supported decision-making

The least restrictive option on the decision-making continuum, in which a person with a disability retains legal capacity and chooses trusted supporters to help understand and communicate decisions.

Guardianship

A court-ordered arrangement, the most restrictive on the decision-making continuum, granted only on a finding of incapacity and removing specified legal rights from the individual.

Seven life domains

A needs-assessment framework covering residential, vocational or day, education, health and medical, social and recreational, financial and legal, and advocacy and decision support.

First-party special needs trust

A trust holding the beneficiary's own assets, established before age 65 for the Medicaid exception, and requiring Medicaid payback of remaining assets at the beneficiary's death.

Third-party special needs trust

A trust funded with assets belonging to someone other than the beneficiary; it has no payback requirement and no age-65 limit, and remaining assets can pass to other heirs.

Pooled special needs trust

A master trust run by a nonprofit with a separate sub-account for each beneficiary; Medicaid payback applies, and the sub-account can be set up by the person, parent, grandparent, guardian, or court.

Supplemental vs supplanting distributions

Trust distributions must add to, not replace, public benefits. Paying cash or covering food and shelter directly can count as in-kind income and reduce SSI or Medicaid eligibility.

ABLE account

A tax-advantaged account for disability expenses. Contributions are capped at the federal gift tax exclusion annually, aggregate limits are set by state, and qualified withdrawals are not counted for means-tested programs.

Beneficiary designation override

Retirement accounts and life insurance pass by beneficiary designation, which overrides the will. Naming the special needs trust or a proper beneficiary protects eligibility.

Representative payee

A person or organization appointed to receive and manage Social Security benefits on behalf of a beneficiary who cannot manage them, with duties to use funds for the beneficiary's needs.

Estate plan coordination

A will, special needs trust, life insurance, beneficiary designations, and letter of intent must work together; a gap in any one document can defeat the family's plan.

Legal document checklist

Core documents include a will, revocable living trust, special needs trust, durable power of attorney, health care directive, guardian nomination, letter of intent, and benefits inventory.

Lifetime cost projection

Estimate annual incremental costs, inflate them at an appropriate rate, multiply by years of need, and discount to present value to set a funding target.

Funding layers

Families typically layer a third-party special needs trust, an ABLE account, life insurance, and government benefits; each has different tax and means-testing treatment.

Life insurance sizing

Face amount should cover the present value of lifetime care costs plus final expenses minus existing resources, and should be payable to the special needs trust, not the beneficiary.

Medicaid HCBS waiver

Home and Community Based Services waivers fund services not covered by standard Medicaid. Waitlists are common, so families should apply early and document need.

SSI resource limit

Supplemental Security Income generally requires countable resources below the individual limit and countable income below the federal benefit rate, which is adjusted annually.

ABLE qualified expenses

Qualified disability expenses include education, housing, transportation, health, assistive technology, and employment support; non-qualified withdrawals are taxable and hit earnings with a 10% penalty.

Household cash flow split

Separate the person's dedicated expenses from general household expenses, and model survivors' needs and the caregiver's retirement funding together rather than in isolation.

Benefit-change stress test

Before executing any asset or income change, test it against SSI, SSDI, Medicaid, and housing subsidy rules, because a small distribution can trigger a large benefit loss.

Special needs trust funding

A third-party trust should be funded with gifts, life insurance, and estate assets, never with the beneficiary's own funds, which can destroy favorable treatment.

Caregiver retirement tradeoff

Caregiving costs can crowd out the parents' retirement savings; the plan must fund both the person's lifetime needs and the caregivers' retirement without assuming the other will cover it.

Benefits inventory

A current list of every benefit the person receives, including SSI, SSDI, Medicaid, waivers, and housing subsidies, with eligibility dates and reporting requirements.

Respite care budgeting

Respite and caregiver support are recurring incremental costs that should be included in the annual cost projection and funded through the trust or waiver services.

Plan stress test

Test the plan against the death or incapacity of each caregiver to confirm funding, decision-making authority, and housing remain adequate under each scenario.

Accumulation vs preservation

Early years emphasize accumulating assets in trust and insurance; later years emphasize preserving eligibility and coordinating distributions with benefits.