Anna Sappington, Esq.

09/22/2022

The Montco Senior Adult Activities Center in Norristown is having an estate planning documents clinic October 6 for low income seniors ages 60+. Call (215) 716-5079 to prescreen and register by SEPTEMBER 30. They have volunteer attorneys but need clients to help!

This is a good opportunity to get a simple will, health care POA, and living will drafted for free. (They will write a financial POA, but I'm not sure if what they'd draft would meet more sophisticated planning needs.)

08/26/2022

Financial exploitation of elders is a huge problem, and it can be hard for victims and their families to get substantive help from law enforcement. PA is creating a new financial abuse specialist team to investigate cases and recover stolen funds.

The Pennsylvania Department of Aging is expanding a pilot program to help local agencies investigate financial exploitation of elderly people.

01/07/2021

I've been happy to see that people have been liking this page! This year, I'm going to make an effort to use it better, including sharing news of interest to my friends and clients.

First up, a short article from Disability Scoop about an effort to develop training materials and practice experiences for working with intellectual & developmental disability (IDD) consumers. Villanova is one of the participating institutions. This is a good step towards incorporating this information in medical education.

A new effort is underway to better prepare future doctors and other health care professionals to treat people with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

09/09/2020

If you receive government benefits like SSI or Medicaid, or love someone who does, come to one of my fall videoclasses at Mt. Airy Learning Tree on special needs benefits and planning! I'll discuss strategies people can use to make the most of gifts, inheritances, and savings without affecting needed benefits. Register for my September 24 class here:

Complete Listings Students Log On Sign Up 0 $0.00 Courses by Group by Location by Instructor All Courses Enter Keyword Advanced Search You can find our catalog here. It is only available online, not in print. An email address is REQUIRED to register for online classes. Our organization, and others i...

05/27/2020

One proposal for providing aid during COVID has been to provide $11,000 to a person for each year s/he agrees to postpone claiming Social Security retirement benefits. For example, I could get $22,000 if I agreed to be ineligible for Social Security retirement benefits until age 69.

As an advocate for the general public, I support expanded unemployment benefits plus additional economic relief. Workers sidelined by COVID should not have to choose between immediate financial ruin and their financial security in old age. The U.S. is behind the curve in protecting our citizens from the pandemic, both medically and financially. Why can't the U.S.A. match the support other countries are providing their citizens?

Americans want more financial aid from the government. Proposals have ranged from giving individuals as much as $2,000 per month in income to letting them borrow as much as $11,000 from their future Social Security benefits. Here's what voters say they want most.

05/22/2020

Distance Learning Resources for Parents and Teachers for School and Summer

04/24/2020

From Philadelphia’s Education Law Center:

COVID-19 school closures have had a large impact on English learner students and their families. ELC has created this resource to help English learners navigate the current educational landscape. We are having this document translated into several languages and will post the translations when they are available.https://www.elc-pa.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/5-Tips-English-Learners.pdf

04/21/2020

A good, short article from WHYY describing the challenges of meeting the mandate to provide individualized instruction for special needs students during the COVID shutdown.

https://whyy.org/articles/special-education-during-coronavirus-what-should-parents-tolerate-demand/

04/11/2020

Information about IRS link to request economic impact checks for people receiving SSI (and those who don’t get Social Security benefits and didn’t file tax returns in ‘18 or ‘19).

Taxpayers who don’t usually file a tax return now have a new tool to get stimulus checks through the Treasury Department and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).

04/10/2020

My earlier post regarding the federal government's "economic impact payments" (the official name for the $1,200 checks we're supposed to get) now is out of date. The IRS' website now says that all of the following should receive their payment automatically: people who filed returns in 2018 or 2019;and those who receive Social Security retirement benefits, SSDI, RRB Railroad Retirement Benefits, or Survivors Benefits. However, if you receive SSI, or if you don't receive any benefits and haven't filed in 2018 or '19, then you would need to fill out a form online in order to get your check. The website below has the link to the form.

We’re committed to helping yout get your economic impact, or stimulus, payment as soon as possible. See if you are eligible for an Economic Impact Payment.

04/01/2020

Washington Post reports that IRS is requiring people to file tax returns in order to receive "economic impact payment" (coronavirus stimulus) checks. See comments for link to IRS' web page with information on receiving payments.

Americans on Social Security now have to file a ‘simple’ tax return to receive a stimulus check. Most high school seniors and college students won’t get any money at all.

03/19/2020

I am excited to be teaching Special Needs Benefits and Planning for Mt. Airy Learning Tree (even if my classes might not go forward as scheduled this session). Check me out on page 27 of the catalog!