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People with disabilities are often targets for exploitation. Persons with disabilities subject to guardianship require additional planning protections to safeguard them from financial predation. This article reviews the literature on this topic and identifies key areas of concern that financial advisors should address to protect this vulnerable population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Clients with special needs, especially those whose disabilities present in childhood, may be beneficiaries of one or more special needs planning tools while subject to guardianship. Each of these tools brings into play the opportunity to provide guidance for coordinating the wishes of the grantor with the responsibilities and obligations of other third-party entities such as guardians and trustees. To avoid potential conflicts and provide maximum protection to the beneficiary, this article reviews the issues likely facing the grantor(s) and provides strategic guidance to financial planners to advise clients on how to effectively coordinate each of these roles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

When leveraged properly as part of a coordinated long-term portfolio, an Achieving a Better Life Experience (ABLE or 529A) account and special needs trust (SNT) can allow an individual with disabilities to maximize savings above the government resource limit (currently $2,000 for an individual) without losing eligibility for U.S. government benefits. This article analyzes recent literature, policies, statutes, and litigation concerning special needs planning matters to create strategic guidance for financial planners who are considering combining an ABLE account with an SNT. Financial planners should address eight key concerns to determine whether it is in a client's best interests to utilize an ABLE account in tandem with an SNT: (1) eligibility; (2) annual contribution limits; (3) cumulative balance limits; (4) total funds available after account setup fees; (5) total funds available after account administration and/or maintenance fees; (6) Medicaid Estate Recovery factors; (7) spending requirements/goals; and (8) state-based investment options. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The current article presents the findings of a quantitative study of 3,886 adults with disabilities and family members of people with disabilities to examine their financial health during the COVID-19 pandemic (March 2020-March 2021). This study provides hard data to highlight how the first year of the pandemic has exacerbated long-standing obstacles in servicing potential planning clients with disabilities. Participants assessed their overall financial well-being by completing a webbased survey to provide information about the state of their individual or family incomes and financial planning behaviors. Two key findings are germane to financial service planners and the special needs planning (SNP) industry: (1) three quarters of individuals reported that their incomes were negatively affected by the COVID-19 pandemic; and (2) nearly a third of people with disabilities and their family members have no financial literacy education or training in SNP matters. Collectively, these findings identify both a knowledge gap and a means gap that must be addressed to provide financial planning services to a larger portion of the disabilities market. The vast majority of individuals with disabilities desire, intend to obtain, or are already obtaining some form of financial literacy education or financial planning resources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Active employees participating in pretax retirement plans are eligible for in-service distributions at age 59½. For employees who support family members with special needs, in-service distributions offer some unique advantages to outright Roth conversions where taxes are paid with lump-sum funds. These include: (1) use of increased withholding taxes to "pay as you go" versus a lump sum due at the time of conversion; (2) they can be automated and extended until the source of funds is fully converted; (3) increased investment choices; (4) greater control, especially against losses; and (5) the reduction of principal of an in-service retirement account reduces in turn the required minimum distributions (RMDs) for the account when these become due. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article contains a 50-state review of recent laws, legislation, and literature concerning public and private guardianship programs across the United States. The authors found that financial planners should consider four key questions regarding the law in the client's home state when analyzing whether a guardianship will best serve a client's needs: (1) How does state law determine whether a guardianship is necessary?; (2) What are the legal decision-making standards for guardians in the state--importantly, to what degree, if any, must a guardian defer to the wishes of an individual subject to guardianship?; (3) How does state law determine whether a guardian is qualified to provide care?; (4) Has state law adopted the protections of the Uniform Adult Guardianship and Protective Proceedings Jurisdiction Act (UAGPPJA)? Special needs planners must be keenly aware of these issues to help clients make well-informed decisions in guardianship matters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article reviews recent literature, policies, and litigation concerning guardianship matters to analyze public and private guardianship programs across all 50 states. Special needs planners should consider how clients might benefit from a legal guardianship system and how guardianship policies are incrementally changing for the better. The authors conclude that planners must be aware of at least five potential positives to best serve their clients: (1) An appropriate guardianship contributes to a client's overall well-being; (2) Government entities have formally recognized a pressing need to improve government oversight of guardianship arrangements; (3) Certain agencies and courts are working to implement less restrictive alternatives to guardianship whenever possible; (4) Government IT systems are in development to collect large, reliable datasets on guardianship matters; and (5) For the first time in American history, guardianship reform efforts are emerging as a key policy concern. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Financial planners who engage in special needs planning (SNP) must be careful not to overlook legacy retirement plans (i.e., plans from previous employers) as possible sources of funding. While some research exists on the best practices for using Roth individual retirement account (IRA) conversions for general estate planning and wealth transfers, there is little guidance available on how to use Roth conversions of legacy retirement plans to fund SNP tools, such as special needs trusts (SNTs) and Achieving a Better Life Experience (ABLE or 529A) accounts. This article examines the strategy and reasoning for using Roth conversions of legacy retirement plans and suggests there are at least seven advantages of this strategy for clients with SNP issues: 1) access to funds at age 59½, rather than 70½; 2) no required minimum distribution (RMDs) in the lifetime of the account owner; 3) no future taxes; 4) reduced risk; 5) wealth transfer in perpetuity; 6) generally not subject to Medicaid recapture if properly structured (subject to certain conditions); and 7) no limitation on the amount of money that can be converted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article reviews recent literature, legislation, and account information concerning 529A accounts created under the Stephen Beck, Jr., Achieving a Better Life Experience (ABLE) Act [26 U.S.C. § 529A (2014)] and analyzes ABLE savings programs across all 50 states. The authors conclude that a 50-state review of ABLE Act rollouts dictates that professional planners should consider six key questions when deciding which state ABLE program best serves a client's needs: 1) Will program fees for maintenance, disbursement, print, rollovers, administration, or other services unduly burden or otherwise inconvenience the client? 2) What are the state account balance limits? 3) Is the client eligible for a state income tax credit for ABLE account use? 4) Is the client best served by a program that offers a debit or purchasing card to use ABLE account funds? 5) Does this state offer the degree of investment risk that most benefits the client? and 6) How will the investment-related fees for this particular state program impact the client? Best practices for due diligence as well as professional standards of care require that specialists be familiar with the core differences between active state ABLE account programs and then tailor their guidance accordingly. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article reviews recent literature on the Stephen Beck, Jr., Achieving a Better Life Experience (ABLE) Act [26 U.S.C. § 529A (2014)] and concludes that there are at least five new potential positives for planners working with clients with special needs that will emerge as the ABLE Act is implemented across the country. These are: (1) increasing the client pool, (2) leveraging new funding sources, (3) generating economies of scale, (4) provisioning for ABLE account inheritances (within the boundaries of legal limits), and (5) coordinating with existing special-needs financial planning tools. The manner in which planners take advantage of ABLE accounts can create new and exciting opportunities to service clients with special needs and their families, though these opportunities are not inevitable. The realization of these potential positives will emerge from effective financial planning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article reviews recent literature on the Stephen Beck, Jr., Achieving a Better Life Experience (ABLE) Act [26 U.S.C. § 529A (2014)] and concludes that there are at least five possible pitfalls arising from the act that should be carefully considered by financial planners working with clients with special needs. These are: (1) age of disability, (2) increased likelihood of do-it-yourself account management, (3) predatory practices, (4) inheritance limitations, and (5) recapture under Medicaid estate recovery law. Aspects of how the ABLE Act is structured create openings for the emergence of scenarios that might harm the very persons ABLE accounts are meant to help, though such outcomes are not inevitable. As such, these openings constitute possible pitfalls that should generate caution among financial planners seeking to help clients with special needs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study considers the viability of the combination strategy with regard to the Porter and Miles & Snow generic strategy typologies. Within each framework, it is possible to pursue a [...]

The Achieving a Better Life Experience (ABLE) Act of 2015 establishes 529A plans which provide special needs individuals with a new option to plan for their financial needs. In the past, advisors would use first and third-party special needs trusts (SNTs) for the financial planning needs of those with disabilities. Although the resources under the ABLE Act are important, this article suggests that the ABLE Act is not a replacement for traditional SNTs and could inadvertently create unintended situations where lower net worth individuals are subject to a regressive "death tax" that provides less, rather than more, assets for the benefit of the intended beneficiary. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Use of the stretch strategy for an inherited IRA offers many attractive features for estate planning. In the area of special needs trusts (SNTs), many advisors also favor the stretch strategy to fund or help fund the SNT. Nevertheless, this article suggests there are at least three scenarios facing SNT planning where the stretch strategy may not be prudent: (1) where the IRA is the sole source of funding for the SNT and required minimum distributions are insufficient to meet the present needs of the beneficiary; (2) where the life expectancy of the beneficiary is projected to be short and other end-of-life issues and expense favor greater funding of present needs over future needs; and (3) where a contingent beneficiary becomes disabled after the creation of the SNT, the trustee is empowered to create a new third-party trust to support the newly disabled beneficiary, and the IRA is the sole source of funding for the new trust. This article reviews these issues in the context of a growing market for special needs planning, a review of the conventional planning wisdom on the stretch strategy, why special needs planning requires special care, and why scenarios where the stretch is not prudent create special implications for financial planners. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reviews scholarship on the interdependence of rhetoric and poetic language, and proposes a performance as argument model for the oral interpretation of literature. Relates the model to current work on the relationship of narrative to argument and suggests benefits gained from its adoption. (SR)

Promoting the idea of blood donation as well as the successful recruitment of blood donors represents substantial marketing challenges. For example, blood products have a short shelf life, donation is invasive, the industry is heavily regulated, and safety issues restrict the number of eligible donors. Moreover, many organizations that collect blood are non-profit services that are not equipped to make use of many of the tools of marketing and promotion. In the for-profit world, organizations are increasingly using sponsorships to enhance the effectiveness of their marketing expenditures. This paper reports on the use of a sponsorship to increase blood drive donations. The sponsorship used a standing annual holiday promotion/ stakeholder appreciation campaign conducted by a large local group of gastroenterologists. Linkage of the sponsorship to a local blood drive resulted in increased response rates from donors and in the number of units of blood collected. Implications of the use of sponsorships for future blood drives are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Drug abuse and addiction continues to negatively impact many lives in this country. The United States health care system has grappled with how to best serve this vulnerable population. Since the personal and societal costs of addiction are high, all recent iterations of the United States strategic health plans (such as Healthy People 2010) have prioritized this area for improvement. At the local level, health care providers who care for those with addictions are challenged with shrinking insurance coverage for services, a difficult patient population, lack of treatment options, growing ranks of indigent patients, as well as a plethora of additional management challenges. It is known that successful treatment is integrally linked with patient satisfaction with services. The most critical factors in successful addiction treatment (from a patient's perspective) are (1) their belief that the counselor cares about them and, (2) their belief that they can recover. This paper reports a case study in the use of a patient satisfaction survey as a quality management/service refinement tool within a methadone treatment setting. Results indicate that the use of the survey itself provides patients with a tangible cue supporting the presence of the critical success factors. Further, the use of a survey provides a baseline for future measurements and trending. The paper concludes with a discussion of the marketing and organizational implications of incorporating the patient satisfaction survey into the ongoing delivery program for addiction services. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]