Fw: Federal Tax Deduction for cost of Guardianship and Special Needs Trust...

[Guest guest]

FYI: Rubin sent this to me and he thinks it is a great idea.

Here is the text and petition from the attachment:

An Affordable

Proposal

for Guardianship:

October/November 2009

The mom's anguished

question was, " Why do I

have to pay $5,000 to

speak for my 18-year old with

Autism? " I then stood up and

asked, " Why can't we get a tax

refund for that amount? " The

whole room went silent. In that

moment, the idea for the Special

Needs Tax Credit was born.

It was November of 2006, and

my lovely wife, , and I

were attending a Guardianship

conference in Ft. Lauderdale.

The room was filled with a

veritable " Who's Who " of South

Florida Elder Law attorneys and

professional guardians. We

attended as Prosperity Life

Planning,

(www.prosperitylifeplanning.org)

our small, educational nonprofit

organization, through which we

educate and advocate for parents

through the special needs

planning process with area

attorneys, benefit consultants, tax

and investment professionals.

I had been working with these

families for just over two years at

that time, and found the challenge

of implementing the legal, social

and financial planning resources

for special needs families to be

my calling. Unlike New York,

where my stepson with Autism,

Ricky, lives in a wonderful group

home paid entirely by Medicaid,

Florida families often are hardpressed

to find benefits for

supports and therapies. The

" Med-Waiver " program has

17,000 families on its waiting list.

Med-Waiver provides for nonmedical

but supportive services,

such as housing, transportation,

therapies, " day-hab " training,

summer programs and respite.

Through our numerous free

consultations, we met families

with one, two, even three young

adults with special needs; parents

who were surprised to learn they

were no longer the legal

guardians of their 18-year old or

older kids. Surprise turned to

shock when they learned that full

guardianship might cost $5,000 in

attorney, specialist and court fees.

There they were, with kids who

couldn't speak for themselves,

kids who lacked the judgment to

make legal, health care or

financial decisions for

themselves, and parents unable to

afford the $5,000 expense to

speak for their child. A real

" Catch-22. "

We immediately began a petition

drive through our planning

workshops and our website.

Everyone agreed it was a

common-sense idea; that MY

taxes could come back to me as a

tax refund for the legal expenses

of setting up a protective

guardianship for MY own child.

With being a tax expert

and accountant, and having her

Certified Financial PlannerT

designation, we talked about how

this could work. A " refundable

tax credit " from the IRS would be

available for someone who paid

the expense for guardianship and/

or a Special Needs Trust, up to a

maximum amount of $5,000. This

would reduce their taxes owed

dollar-for-dollar, and a check

issued for any remaining balance.

Continued on side 2

The Special Needs Tax Credit Bill

BY JARET L. VOGEL

This method would especially

benefit lower income families, who

might not pay as much in taxes,

and receive a refund for the

difference, much like the Earned

Income Credit or the Additional

Child Tax Credit currently provide.

On September 11, 2008, we went

to Washington, DC, and met with

the legislative assistant to my

local representative,

Congressman Wexler (D-

19th Cong. District- Boca Raton).

We discussed the problem and

introduced him to our proposal.

In May, 2009, I received notice

that Congressman Wexler would

sponsor legislation to create the

Special Needs Tax Credit

proposal as we envisioned.

Language for the Bill has been

completed, and a Republican

co-sponsor has been identified.

While Congressman Wexler

recently announced his interest to

work in the nonprofit sector,

other Democratic Representatives

are being discussed to co-sponsor

the Bill, which would be

introduced when finalized.

Simultaneously, in January of

2009, we met with attorney

Elaine Bucher in the Boca Raton

office of international law firm

Proskauer Rose, LLP. She was

impressed with our proposal, and

shortly thereafter, we were told

they would create a Florida

nonprofit organization and

provide the IRS filing as a

501©(4), Social Welfare

Organization, for us pro bono, a

task we could not have afforded.

The nonprofit designation for

the " Special Needs Tax Credit

Alliance, Inc. "

(www.specialneedstaxcredit.org)

was finalized in July of 2009.

We actually see this potential

revision to the tax code as a civil

rights bill, because " typical "

families are not burdened with

the expense of $5,000 to speak

for their adult children, or need to

spend $1000 to $1500. for a

Special Needs Trust, as typical

kids may well have the abilities

and opportunities to have fulltime

careers, with pension plans

or retirement accounts to build

over their working lives.

The First and Fourteenth

Amendments were established to

provide for Free Speech and

Equal Treatment Under the

Law. Yet how can our young

adults, who may have cognitive

impairments and cannot speak for

themselves, enjoy this equal

treatment, if their parents can't

afford thousands of dollars in

legal fees? No one is empowered

to speak for these millions of

Americans.

The Special Needs Tax Credit

(SNTC) proposal offers a sensible

and affordable " soft-dollar "

approach to solving this problem,

while possibly reducing expenses

to the court system. If more

people who need a guardian have

one, there may be less expense

for Guardians Ad Litem, or courtappointed

emergency

guardianship, when no one has

been previously appointed.

We are in the process of raising

$500,000, for a four-year

program to build awareness

throughout state and national

disability support organizations,

as well as the Elder Law groups

and Probate sections of state and

national Bar Associations.

Groups such as AARP for seniors

will be contacted, as seniors with

dementia and Alzheimer's may

need their adult child to become

their Guardian. Other groups in

support of the Americans with

Disabilities Act and the ACLU

will be called upon to build

awareness to their membership,

and finally, members of Congress

will be lobbied to expand

Democracy to those who cannot

speak for themselves.

" Everyone Deserves to Have a

Voice, or Someone to Speak for

Them. "

Please contribute to our cause.

Donations to the Special Needs

Tax Credit Alliance are not tax

deductible to the donor, but funds

are utilized tax exempt by the

organization. A petition can be

downloaded from the SNTCA

website at

www.specialneedstaxcredit.org,

and voluntary contributions can

be sent to:

" Special Needs Tax Credit

Alliance, Inc. "

4673 Brady Boulevard

Delray Beach, FL 33445

attn: Jaret Vogel, Director

(561) 865-2921

info@...

www.specialneedstaxcredit.org

Reprinted with permission.

The Special Needs Tax Credit Alliance, Inc.

A 501 ©(4) not for profit Social Welfare Organization

The Corporation (SNTCA) is organized exclusively for promoting the creation of

congressional legislation

to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, that will provide a refundable

federal tax credit for legal

and other professional fees associated with establishing legal guardianship or a

trust for a person with

disabilities, to lessen the burden on families with a disabled family member,

and providing for the future

needs and well-being of such members.

" I support establishment of the Special Needs Tax Credit proposal, to assist

persons with

disabilities enjoy a more protected and rewarding quality of life. My signature

attests to my

support for this legislation and my desire for my elected representative in

Congress to sponsor

and support the passage of this legislation. "

Name ____________________________ Signature ________________________ Date

_________

Address

__________________________________________________________________________

City __________________________________ State_____________ Zip

_____________________

Phone _______________________________ Email

_______________________________________

Please sign, date and mail your statement of support to:

Special Needs Tax Credit Alliance, Inc.

Attn: Jaret L. Vogel

4673 Brady Boulevard

Delray Beach, FL 33445

561-865-2921

info@...

www.specialneedstaxcredit.org

Your name and contact information will not be sold,

rented, traded or distributed

to any other organization for any other purpose.

Ellen

Ellen Garber Bronfeld

egskb@...