Ask a Lawyer Series: ABLE Account News
By Eva M. Luchini, JD, Law office of Eva M. Luchini, PLLC
Here’s the latest on ABLE accounts, my friends!
529 account rollovers to ABLE. If you have a 529 account for your child with disabilities, you have until year end to roll it over into an ABLE account. The rollover must be complete before January 1, 2026. The money still grows tax free, and it can still be used for college but in the ABLE account it can be used for a lot more.
ABLE to WORK extra contribution. For this year, 2025, the standard annual contribution limit to an ABLE account is $19,000. Now there is also an additional ABLE to WORK contribution for those who are earning wages. Here in Washington that extra contribution limit is equal to the account holder’s annual gross income, up to $15,650.
Warning about Conservatorship. If there is a conservatorship (the money side of guardianship), then the court will insist on a bond for any funds available to the conservator over $3,000. That means funds in the conservatorship bank account and the ABLE account combined. In other words, if there’s a conservatorship (formerly known as Guardianship of the Estate), then a bond is required for the funds in an ABLE account that push the total funds under the conservator’s control over the $3,000 limit. Even parents serving as conservator have to pay such a bond. There may be other options that make more sense than an ABLE account in this situation.
In my special needs planning with parents, I help folks understand how to use ABLE accounts, pooled trust accounts, and special needs trusts to the best advantage and avoid pitfalls.
Eva M Luchini, JD
Estate Planning
Special Needs Trusts
Alternatives to Guardianship
Law Office of Eva M. Luchini, PLLC
www.luchinilaw.com
360.817.0007
723 NE 4th Ave.
Camas, WA 98607