November Monthly BECP Event - Idaho's New 529A ABLE Account: A Planning Tool for Clients with Special Needs
Idaho’s New 529A ABLE Account: A Planning Tool for Clients with Special Needs
About the Presentation
Idaho’s new ABLE Savings Plan gives individuals with disabilities and their families another important tool for long-term financial and estate planning. Offered through Idaho’s partnership with the national STABLE Account program, ABLE accounts allow eligible individuals to save and invest for qualified disability-related expenses while generally preserving eligibility for means-tested benefits such as SSI and Medicaid.
In this presentation, Josh Reams will explain how Idaho’s new ABLE program works and where it fits within a comprehensive special-needs planning strategy. The discussion will address eligibility, contributions and distributions, qualified disability expenses, public-benefit considerations, and how ABLE accounts can be coordinated with special needs trusts and other estate planning techniques. The program is especially timely following the 2026 expansion of ABLE eligibility to individuals whose qualifying disability began before age 46, up from the previous age 26 threshold.
About Josh Reams
Joshua C.P. Reams is a Partner with the Elder Law Group of Ahrens DeAngeli Law Group LLP. His practice focuses on estate planning, asset preservation, and long-term care planning. Josh earned his B.A., magna cum laude, from Northwest Nazarene University and his J.D., summa cum laude, from Willamette University College of Law, where he graduated as class valedictorian. He is a VA-accredited attorney and a member of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys and is a Past President of the Boise Estate Planning Council. Josh has also previously presented on special needs trusts and ABLE accounts, making this an area closely aligned with his elder-law and estate-planning practice.
