Woman’s Club Youths of the Month
The Calhoun Woman’s Club Youths of the Month were recently announced. One student from each public high school was chosen.
For Gordon Central, the February Youth of the Month is Emily Pierce who was nominated by Dr. Kim Watters.
A member of the Performing Arts Program at GC, Emily has been an extraordinary part of chorus and theater, acting as a leader and setting the example for others to follow. She has served as the GC Blue Box Theater house manager for the past two years, and is the perfect ambassador for our theater. Outside of performing arts, Emily has been a football and basketball cheerleader all four years, actively participates in SKILLS USA for healthcare science and was a participant in the Gordon Central Warrior Academy. Emily is an honor student and seeks advanced curriculum when possible. She served as cheer captain and was a 2020 Homecoming Queen nominee for GC. Emily is also an active member in her church and local community.
Sonoraville High School’s Youth of the Month for SHS
in February is Jacy Smith, right, pictured here with her nominating teacher Nikki Swilley.
“Jacy is a dedicated young lady, as exampled by her completing her graduation requirements a year early. Jacy by all rights is a junior classman, with senior class status, Swilley said. “She has worked tirelessly in order to complete early graduation, all while maintaining a GPA of 3.94 in both honors and dual enrollment classes. Jacy is also a member of the Lady Phoenix softball team, lettering the last two years, as well as a member of Beta Club. Jacy’s plans are to pursue a degree in nursing. Although undecided as to which college she will call home the next four years, she has been accepted to all she applied to; Wingate University, the University of Tennessee and Mercer University were mentioned at the top of her list. No matter which direction her decision leads her, any organization will benefit from the dedication to her academics. She will be an excellent nurse!”
Calhoun High School Guidance Counselor Kendra Arnold nominated senior Alan Avila Arcos.
“Alan leads by example, and he strives for excellence in everything that he does at Calhoun High School,” Arnold said. “Academically, Alan is in the top 10% of his graduating class. Throughout high school, he has taken 16 AP and Dual Enrollment courses to prepare him for his postsecondary transition. Alan is a member of the Beta Club and has been a member of the Yellow Jacket Marching Band for five years. He was also on the wrestling team for 3 years. Alan was recognized as an AP Scholar in 2019 and an AP Scholar with Distinction for 2020. This semester, Alan is participating in the Work-Based Learning program, working at Shaw Industries, while taking AP courses and dual enrollment courses through both Georgia Tech and Georgia Northwestern Technical College. He has been accepted to Georgia Tech for the fall and plans to pursue a law career in the future.”
If you have a child or other family member who has special needs due to physical or mental conditions, you face a variety of challenges planning for their care, including financial ones. You may also have some wellmeaning relatives who want to help, but who may not realize that their moves could actually result in some serious lifestyle and monetary problems for your loved one. Fortunately, by planning ahead, you can avoid these potential traps.
As you probably already know, individuals with special needs are eligible for a variety of government benefits and local programs that provide assistance with housing, medical needs, specialized equipment, independent living, job training and other services. You may also know that some of these programs require participants to meet financial criteria to qualify for benefits.
Usually, this isn’t a problem if your loved one has little income and few assets. Difficulties can arise, though, when other relatives, such as grandparents, include loved ones with special needs in their estate plans by naming them as beneficiaries of insurance policies or retirement assets, or as beneficiaries of any trusts the grandparents have established. In these situations, loved ones who receive or inherit a sizable amount of assets may then be ruled ineligible for some important services.
Hopefully, your relatives will have informed you of their plans. If so, let them know that although you appreciate their generosity, the way they’ve chosen to show it could have unanticipated – and harmful – effects. You could then suggest ways they could structure their gifts to be more valuable.
Specifically, they can help through a special needs trust, either one that’s already been created or one they create for their gift. A special needs trust is designed to help people with special needs use financial gifts or inheritances for a variety of purposes while keeping their eligibility for some government programs and other services. There are two main types of special needs trust:
♦ First-party special needs trust – An individual with special needs, their legal guardian or the court can establish a first-party special needs trust benefiting that individual. The first- party special needs trust is funded by the individual’s own assets, either through earnings or an inheritance or a personal injury award. A first-party trust contains a “payback” rule, which means that when the individual beneficiary with special needs dies, the trust must pay back the state for certain benefits received.
♦ Third-party special needs trust – A relative or person other than the individual with special needs who wants to include that individual in their estate plan can set up a thirdparty special needs trust. The third party trust is funded with assets from someone other than the individual with special needs. With a third-party trust, no “payback” provision is required.
Many issues are involved in establishing an appropriate special needs trust. Consequently, you’ll need to consult with your legal advisor to determine your next steps.
Afterwards, you’ll want to involve everyone in your family who could contribute to a trust, so they’ll all know what to expect and how they can participate. Once the arrangements are made, you can all feel like you’ve done your part to make things easier for the loved one in your life with special needs.