For the parents of a child with special needs, concerns about their child's health, well-being and future financial security are magnified, especially if the child may need continued special care and support well into adulthood. It is essential that parents engage in a planning process so that the needs of the child and other family members are met.

A carefully structured Special Needs Trust (also called a Supplemental Needs Trust) is an important cornerstone in special needs planning.

Here's what you need to know.

Over the last decade, estate planning techniques have changed, based on emerging, federal and state legislation, and shifting threshold...

In economic news this week, the Labor Department released April Consumer Price Index (CPI) numbers. According to the report, this was another month of lower inflation, primarily due to falling gas prices. CPI fell 0.4% for April, and over the last year, CPI is only up by 1.1%. Even with the slight decrease in gas prices in April, it sure seems like we have seen more inflation over the last year. I know many of my grocery staples have increased in price (or the package sizes have shrunk).

Unfortunately, only these government-reported inflation numbers matter in determining monetary policy. And this...

Treasury yields have been going up over the last two weeks, but May continues to be bad for CD rates. We lost another nationally available 2% CD this week. Air Force Federal Credit Union reduced its 7-year Jumbo CD yield from 2% to 1.90%. That leaves Mountain America Credit Union's 2% APY 5-year CD as the only nationally available 2% CD that doesn't require a checking account. If you don't mind maintaining an active checking account, you can also get a 2% APY 5-year CD at Stanford Federal Credit Union and at Connexus Credit Union.

The highest 5-year CD rate for...

After more than a year of a 1.00% APY, Barclays cut its online savings account yield to 0.90% APY on Thursday. As I described last month, Barclays started offering its online savings account and online CDs in March 2012. The savings account yield held for more than a year, but like many other internet banks in this low interest rate environment, Barclays wasn’t able to maintain this rate.

In addition to the Fed policies, deposit growth and competition are likely factors that affected Barclays’ decision. Last November, Barclays reported that it had exceeded its deposit goals with a...

For much of the last year Libertad Bank had been offering a great 18-month CD deal. That has ended, but it now has new deals that are even better, especially for those who don’t like to lock into CDs. One of the new deals is a money market account special with a 1.50% APY for balances of at least $10,000. The rate is guaranteed until 6/30/2014. New money is required, and there’s a $9.99 monthly fee for balances under $1,000. This offer is listed at the bank’s money market page as of 5/16/2013. Thanks to DA...

I came across Western State Bank yesterday when I learned it’s taking over a bank that failed on Tuesday. I noticed the bank is listing a bonus of up to $100 for its checking account on its front page. The details are listed in its Benny! page. Here’s what is required to receive the full $100 (as of 5/16/2013):

• $25 Sign up for Direct Deposit
• $25 Pay five bills with Bill Pay
• $25 Make 10 Cash and Check Card Transactions
• $25 Open a Treasury Market Account

The offer is valid on new personal checking accounts only. Payment will be made...

KeyBank has another checking promotion in which you can earn $150. It's very similar to the $150 bonus that it was offering last year. Like before it's an online-only offer, but the online application only accepts certain areas which appear to be in their market area (see below).

KeyBank doesn’t have the best reputation among many DA readers. You can read the problems customers have experienced in the comments of my 2012 KeyBank post and in my 2011 KeyBank post. If you have experience with KeyBank promotions and checking accounts, please leave a comment below.

Here's the

Bank regulators closed Central Arizona Bank on Tuesday. This is the first Tuesday bank failure that I can remember. The vast majority of bank failures occur on Friday which gives the FDIC the weekend to transition the bank to a new owner. This non-Friday closure may have something to due with the bank's parent, Capitol Bancorp. Two other of this banking holding company's subsidiaries failed last Friday. As described in this Calculated Risk blog post, Capitol Bancorp has been havings problems for a while:

After controlling more than 50 banks at its peak, Capitol Bancorp has reduced its...

GE Capital Retail Bank (formerly MetLife Bank) did something that is rare these days. It increased the rates of some of its CDs. Its Jumbo 4-year and 5-year CD rates went up by 10 bps. The 5-year Jumbo CD rate is now 1.75% APY, and the 4-year Jumbo CD rate is now 1.50% APY. These require a minimum deposit of $100,000. The rate tiers of $50K, $25K, $15K and $2K have lower rates. As one example for a $25K minimum deposit, the 5-year CD rate is 1.65% APY. The bank also offers IRA CDs. These rates are listed at...

Barclays has recently made a change to its CDs that should be appreciated by some savers. You can now receive an interest disbursement from your CD on a monthly basis. Before this change, CD customers could only have their interest accumulate in the CD. For those who depend on CD interest for their income, this is an important feature. When I first reported on Barclays, a reader noted that the FAQs stated that interest on CDs isn’t disbursed, and he said “that’s a non-starter for me.” The new Barclays CD FAQs now state the following:

Can I receive interest disbursements...

Last month I reported on Incredible Bank’s new monthly maintenance fee for its checking account. Incredible Bank has emailed its customers regarding a change it has decided to make. The fee will still take effect in June, but they are making it easier to have this fee waived. In addition to maintaining a $300 checking account balance, customers can have this fee waived if they maintain an average collected balance that totals $5,000 for all of their deposit accounts. Below is an excerpt of the email that customers received (thanks to the DA reader who forwarded this to...

Widget Financial Credit Union (formerly Erie General Electric Credit Union) is offering a $77 bonus for opening a new free checking account. Unfortunately, the credit union’s reward checking account (HD Checking) doesn’t qualify for the bonus. The bonus requires that the you open a new Free Checking account with direct deposit of net pay. Offer is valid through 5/31/2013. After 5/31/2013, the offer amount will be reduced to $25. The promo code is WIDGE-TEDDM-7774. Thanks to the DA member 51hh who mentioned this promo and credit union name change in the forum.

The details are listed in the