Disabling ABLE: Five Possible Pitfalls When Implementing the ABLE Act.

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]