Estate Planning for Families with Disabled Dependents

Presenter:  Theresa Varnet of Spain, Spain & Varnet

Thursday, March 25
 7:00 p.m.

Schaumburg Township Board Room - 2nd Floor
One Illinois Boulevard, Hoffman Estates, Illinois

Persons with disabilities often depend on a variety of government benefits such as Medicaid, SSI and SSDI for support. Unless a family is in a financial position to leave an estate in the millions for the benefit of the family member who is disabled, the loss of these benefits can be devastating. Our speaker will discuss the following topics:

•how to plan the estates of parents for the benefit of a child receiving public benefits so that the inheritance does not jeopardize the child's eligibility for government financed services or support.

• how to use a trust for the benefit of an SSI or Medicaid recipient.

•how to preserve eligibility for government benefits when a person with a disability
receives funds from a divorce or a windfall (i.e. inheritance, law suit settlement, gift, etc.)

About our Presenter: Theresa M. Varnet, Attorney at Law, has been an advocate for persons with disabilities for over 25 years. In addition to being a certified teacher, licensed social worker and a graduate of the DePaul University College of Law, she is the parent of an adult daughter who is disabled. She has served as Social Services Director in a residential school for children with severe to profound mental retardation, Coordinator for a Special Education Cooperative, and as a Citizen Advocacy/Disability Rights Coordinator. She is active on national, state and local levels of the ARC, and her experience includes extensive work in the area of in- service training with families, special educators, social workers and other professionals. Theresa is a frequent speaker at national and state conventions of the ARC, The Association for Severely Handicapped, the Autism Society, the Alliance for the Mentally

Registration is not necessary to attend the meeting.

Free on-site child care is available for parents attending the meeting, but space is limited.  YOU MUST REGISTER FOR CHILD CARE.