We meet the lifetime legal needs of children and adults with disabilities, the elderly, and their families.
Can you imagine being left with no choice but to surrender custody of your own child in order to get him help? Consider a hypothetical family of four: mom, dad, one typical child, and one child with extreme and violent behaviors, all living together under one roof. They’ve tried everything: school-based interventions, private therapy, brief periods of hospitalization, medication. Still,…
“…[A]s we know, there are known knowns; there are things we know we know. We also know there are known unknowns; that is to say we know there are some things we do not know. But there are also unknown unknowns – the ones we don’t know we don’t know.” – Former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld One of the…
Like many older parents of adult children with disabilities, you are probably concerned about what will happen to your child after you are gone. You may have also done extensive planning to make sure your child’s needs are met. You are comfortable that there is a good team in place when needed. So can you rest easily? Unfortunately, not always.…
I recently saw two advertisements from companies trying to help people “stop Medicaid from taking your retirement.” The ads paint a frightening picture and offer advice on how to avoid trouble. Typically, when you read between the lines of these advertisements, you see they’re usually advising you to take one or two strategies: develop some kind of trust, or invest…
On March 22, 2017, the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously held that a school must offer an IEP reasonably calculated to enable a child to make progress appropriate in light of the child’s unique circumstances (Endrew F. v. Douglas County Sch. Dist. 2017 Lexis 2025) (“Endrew F.”). This decision represents an increased duty on school districts to provide an educational benefit…
You know that huge packet of boring legal information the school district gives you at the end of your IEP meetings? You likely have multiple copies at home. Well, it’s changing. The Ohio Department of Education (ODE) has issued a new procedural safeguards notice. Instead of the “Whose IDEA is This?” notice, you will soon begin receiving A Guide to…
Remember the little girl with cerebral palsy that wasn’t allowed to bring her guide dog to school in Michigan? The family sued the school district and the case was thrown out because the family didn’t first try to resolve the matter administratively by filing due process under Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) laws. The family argued that it was not…
A fiduciary is a broad legal term. Essentially, a fiduciary is a person who is invested with rights and powers to be exercised for the benefit of another person.[1] A fiduciary in the context of this article is an administrator of an estate, a trustee of a trust, a court appointed guardian, or an agent of a power of attorney.…
If you are like me, you may not like thinking or even talking about dying, especially if it’s about you or a loved one. I frequently see the same discomfort in my clients’ faces when we discuss the subject. Discomfort and denial help many of us avoid the topic. Yet death can’t be avoided – at least not yet… A…
The United States Supreme Court is trying to determine exactly what level of benefit a public school is required to provide to its students with disabilities in order to comply with the Federal IDEA. Does a school have to show that each student is making “substantial progress?” Or “meaningful progress?” Since this case has such great importance, there are many…