Recent Talk by Firm Attorney Don Freedman -- Evergreen Center, Milford, MA
[October 20, 2006]
Donald N. Freedman

Don Freedman addressed about 80 family members and senior staff of the Evergreen Center, a residential school in Milford, Massachusetts, serving children and adolescents with severe developmental disabilities, on October 19, 2006. Center students in the transition years of 18 - 22, and their families, must deal with many legal challenges, and this was the subject of his presentation. Specific topics addressed included the following. (1) The agency most responsible for services shifts from their local school department to a state agency, most typically the Department of Mental Retardation, with new standards to understand and new procedures to navigate. (2) Eligibility rules under MassHealth (Medicaid), Supplemental Security Income and other programs are different for children and adults, and must be understood to ensure that the child is receiving all appropriate assistance. (3) If the child is not capable at age 18 of making decisions about his personal, medical and financial affairs, then guardianship, or alternatives to guardianship, must be considered. What are the standards for guardianship? types of guardianship? procedures for appointment? (4) If the child is going to work, then the implications of pay on his benefits, and of the array of work incentives under Social Security and other programs, must be fully understood. (5) With children turning 18, their finances are no longer subject to the control of their parents. Estate plans must be updated, to ensure the appropriate coordination of human resources (family members and professionals), family financial resources (most often in the form of a trust), and government benefits, in support of the child over his or her lifetime. Mr. Freedman has written papers on each of these topics (other than the first), and copies are available on request, by letter or e-mail.

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