Clancy & Associates Ltd. is Illinois's only full-service special needs planning law firm dedicated to supporting individuals with special needs and their families. Our mission is to help families protect and empower their loved ones with a disability through streamlined, comprehensive planning. We use our innovative full-service approach to both identify opportunities and secure solutions and benefits for our clients at our Firm. We “keep watch” for families so they can attend to the daily priorities of their loved one’s life and leave the legal planning to us.

In this newsletter, meet our Guardianship Attorney Alejandra Vilchis, learn more about special needs trusts and IRAs, stimulus checks' impact on benefits, upcoming firm events, and community resources.
Welcome to the September Newsletter!
Upcoming Events
In the Community
Client Spotlight
We were privileged to guide Josh and his mother Julie through the special needs planning process. For this family, planning included trusts, government benefit applications, guardianship, and life planning services.
"I'm so glad we found your firm. Thank you for all that you do!" - Julie
Featured News
Leaving an IRA to a Special Needs Trust Is No Longer a Bad Idea
The SECURE Act passed at the end of 2019, changed a number of rules regarding inherited IRAs, making it more difficult for most beneficiaries to save on taxes by "stretching" distributions over many years. However, an exception to the new rules potentially changes advice that special needs planners often give clients.
Pandemic Payments Now Won't Affect SSI Benefits or Eligibility at All
Pandemic-related financial assistance will no longer affect an individual’s eligibility for Supplemental Security Income (SSI) or the benefit amount, the Social Security Administration (SSA) has announced. The assistance includes a long list of pandemic payments, ranging from COVID-19 relief checks to state unemployment assistance.
New State Law Strengthens IL ABLE
In August, the Illinois ABLE Asset Protection Act became law. This was the first law of its kind to be passed in the country. It's intended to allow assets in an IL ABLE account, after funeral and burial expenses are paid, to be transferred to another ABLE-eligible individual without being distributed to a probate estate pursuant to a payable on death agreement.  
Around the Office
Meet Alejandra I. Vilchis
Meet our Guardianship attorney Alejandra I. Vilchis. Alejandra guides our families through the guardianship process, reporting, and training requirements.
Read more about Alejandra in her bio.
Upcoming Events

September 29, 2021

Our popular annual Letter of Intent Clinic is back! Please join us at 7 p.m. via Webinar to learn how to write this important document. Reservations are required and "seats" are going fast.

October 6, 2021

C&A is proud to participate in this year's Options Fair. This event will be virtual from
6p.m. to 8p.m.

October 13, 2021

Are you looking ahead to the future? Please join us at 7 p.m. via Webinar to learn about Legal and Financial Planning for the Special Needs Family. Reservations are required.
Be sure to check out our Events Page regularly for more fall events.
In the Community
Resources We Value...
Jessica Fraider from Pillars Community Health joined us recently for an office Lunch & Learn and helped us understand the many services Pillars provides specifically in mental health, employment, and substance use disorders programming. Check the Pillars website for information about the services offered and upcoming events.
Planning for individuals with special needs and their families.