Individuals with disabilities have historically been marginalized and treated as if their disabilities defined them. Gone are the days that calling someone an “invalid,” “handicapped,” or “retarded” is acceptable. In its place, we use person-first language to appropriately and respectfully describe and speak about individuals with disabilities.
Instead of referring to a person with disability, “person-first language” (also called “people-first language”) emphasizes the person first, not the disability. It describes what a person has, but not who a person is. When describing someone who has a disability, refer to him as “a person with ________,” or “a person who has __________________.”
For example:
| Say This: | Not This: |
| Person who is deaf | Deaf person |
| Person who uses a wheelchair | Wheelchair-bound/ handicapped |
| Person with an intellectual disability | Retarded |
| Person with epilepsy | Epileptic |
| Person with autism | Autistic |
| Person with a learning disability | Learning disabled |
| Student who receives special education services | Special ed student |
This is not political correctness; it is a demonstration of respect. Why does it matter? Because the words we use affect how people see themselves and others, contribute to social norms, and ultimately influence changes in the law. Using antiquated terminology that defines a person in terms of his disability sends the message that you have an underlying prejudice or see them as nothing more than their disability. It’s demeaning and belittling. Using person-first language, however, sends the message that the person is of value and worthy of respect, and gives the person an opportunity to define himself using his talents, characteristics, and other abilities.
It has been said that the population with disabilities is the only minority group that anyone can join at any time, whether at birth, as the result of an accident or illness, or simply as a part of growing older. If it were to suddenly happen to you, how would you want to be described?
Ask Kit Kat – Nurse Kitty
Hook Law Center: Kit Kat, what can you tell us about the cat who saved his owner from death?
Kit Kat: Well, this is an unusual story. Glen Schallman adopted a cat whom he named Blake. Turned out it was a smart move! Blake has repeatedly saved Glen’s life by biting Glen’s toes or jumping on him when he senses danger. Glen has some rare medical conditions which mostly affect his brain. Two are polymicrogyria and unilateral schizencephaly. In addition, he has a brain tumor known as hypothalamic hamartoma. The latter causes seizures which are very frequent, almost daily. However, thanks to Blake, Glen is known as oldest living person with this combination of conditions. Without any training, Blake seems to sense when a seizure is about to happen, and he bites Glen’s toes or rouses him, so that Glen can move to a safe place before it happens. Once, Glen was having a seizure in the middle of the night. Blake bit his toes and woke him up before the seizure went on too long. In another, when Glen’s hands began to tremor, Blake jumped in Glen’s lap, stroked his arms and purred and purred until the tremors stopped. This helped to calm Glen, and help him recover more quickly than he otherwise might have done.
Usually it is dogs who are used as therapy companions, but in this case, a cat has fulfilled that role extremely capably. It appears that both our canine cousins and we felines have potential in feeling and perceiving that you humans are only beginning to understand. (Sheeka Sanahori, “Nurse Kitty! Cat bites owner’s toes, saves him from deadly seizure,” USA Today, (Humankind section), Oct.6, 2016)
Distribution of This Newsletter
Hook Law Center encourages you to share this newsletter with anyone who is interested in issues pertaining to the elderly, the disabled and their advocates. The information in this newsletter may be copied and distributed, without charge and without permission, but with appropriate citation to Hook Law Center, P.C. If you are interested in a free subscription to the Hook Law Center News, then please telephone us at 757-399-7506, e-mail us at mail@hooklawcenter.com or fax us at 757-397-1267.The post Using Person-First Language to Communicate With and About People with Special Needs first appeared on SEONewsWire.net.]]>
The post Potential Disclosure of Records Impacting Students with Special Needs first appeared on SEONewsWire.net.]]>New York City special education students and their parents should be aware of a potential disclosure of student records for the purpose of a class action lawsuit. The potential disclosure may affect students who had an Individualized Education Program (IEP) prepared between 2003 and 2016 by the New York City Department of Education (DOE), and either attended a state-approved non-public school or…
The post Potential Disclosure of Records Impacting Students with Special Needs first appeared on SEONewsWire.net.]]>New York City special education students and their parents should be aware of a potential disclosure of student records for the purpose of a class action lawsuit. The potential disclosure may affect students who had an Individualized Education Program (IEP) prepared between 2003 and 2016 by the New York City Department of Education (DOE), and either attended a state-approved non-public school or…
by Thomas D. Begley, Jr., CELA
Introduction
The United States Supreme Court in a 9-0 unanimous ruling held that an inherited IRA is not protected in bankruptcy under federal law.[1] Heidi Heffron-Clark inherited an IRA from her mother in 2001 and filed for bankruptcy nine years later. The court held that the IRA was not shielded from her creditors, because the funds were not earmarked exclusively for retirement. The Supreme Court indicated that creditor protection does not apply to inherited IRAs for a number of reasons:
- Beneficiaries cannot add money to an inherited IRA like IRA owners can to their accounts;
- Beneficiaries of inherited IRAs must generally begin to make Required Minimum Distributions (RMDs) in the year after they inherit the accounts regardless of how far away they are from retirement;
- Beneficiaries can take total distributions of their inherited accounts at any time and use the funds for any purpose without a penalty. IRA owners must generally wait until age 59-1/2 before they can take penalty-free distributions.
The court held that inherited IRAs do not contain funds dedicated exclusively for use by individuals during retirement. As a result, the favorable bankruptcy protection afforded to retirement funds under the Federal Bankruptcy Code does not apply.
The court did not rule on whether a Spousal Rollover IRA is protected from creditors. Like other IRA owners, if the money is rolled into their own IRA, they may have to pay a 10% early-withdrawal penalty if money is taken before age 59-1/2. If the money is not rolled over into the Spousal Rollover account, then it would appear that the assets will not be protected in bankruptcy.
A way to safeguard IRA and other retirement account assets from creditors is to name a trust as beneficiary of the retirement account.
Trust as Beneficiary
- The best practice is to name a standalone retirement trust as beneficiary for IRAs and other tax-deferred retirement accounts. Naming a trust as beneficiary provides more control. A trust can be drafted to protect the assets from a beneficiary’s creditors.
- If retirement account monies are left directly to heirs, the funds may be squandered by the heirs defeating any benefit of the long-term tax deferral. The trust provides protection from premature withdrawal.
- If the heir is divorced, the retirement account funds may be subject to claims of the non-heir spouse, or if the IRA is in a trust, the non-heir spouse will not be able to attach them.
- Benefit of Beneficiary. If a parent names a child as beneficiary of the parent’s retirement account and subsequently the child dies, that child may name the child’s spouse as beneficiary and the child’s spouse may remarry naming the new spouse as beneficiary. The retirement account would no longer remain in the bloodline. The trust can be designed so that on the death of the child the account passes to other family members and is kept in the bloodline.
- Special Needs. If the beneficiary has special needs, the trust can be drafted to protect the beneficiary’s entitlement to government programs such as SSI, Medicaid or any other means-tested public benefits.
- Finally, if the funds are placed in a trust no guardianship proceeding is needed upon the beneficiary’s incapacity.
[1] Clark v. Rameker, 134 S. Ct. 2242 (2016).
The post RETIREMENT ACCOUNT TRUSTS – PART 1 first appeared on SEONewsWire.net.]]>