The document discusses special needs planning, emphasizing the importance of financial and personal care planning for individuals with disabilities and their families. It outlines steps for creating a personal care plan, transition plan, legal plan, and financial plan, addressing various needs and government benefits available. Key techniques like special needs trusts are highlighted to help preserve assets while ensuring access to required benefits.

1. Special Needs Planning
Presented by Nancy L Roach, CFP®

2. The Statistics…
 1 in 5 U.S. residents has
some level of disability:
 19% of U.S.
population
 56.7 million Americans
 5.2% of children ages 5
to 17 have some level of
disability
Source: U.S. Census Bureau
Reports, www.census.gov, accessed
February 2015

3. The Statistics…
 1 in 68 American
children has an autism
spectrum disorder*
 1 in 9 older Americans
has Alzheimer’s
disease**
*Source: Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention, Data and Statistics,
www.cdc.gov, March 2014
**Source: Alzheimer's Association report,
2014 Alzheimer’s Disease Facts and
Figures

4. What Is Special Needs Planning?
 Provides for a disabled
individual, personally and
financially
 Considers needs of the
individual and their family
 Plans can be made by the
individual and/or their loved
ones including:
 Child of any age
 Sibling
 Spouse
 Parent
 Other relative or friend

5. Goals of Special Needs Planning
 Balance your present and future needs with your loved one's
present and future needs.
 Create and implement personal care, financial, and legal
plans.
 Communicate such plans to all relevant persons.
 Review and revise plans as circumstances change
 Assure family members that loved one’s needs have been
adequately addressed

6. Risks of Not Planning Ahead
 Upon your death, certain
decisions will be made for
you:
 Guardianship and/or
a conservatorship
 How much of an
inheritance your loved
one will get
 Loss of Time Value
 Preservation of Look
Back

7. Planning Steps
You need to:
 Create and implement a
current personal care plan
for your loved one
 Create a transition plan
for continued personal care
as circumstances change
 Create and execute a legal
plan
 Create and implement
a financial plan

8. Step 1: Create and Implement a
Personal Care Plan
 Who will provide care?
 You and/or other family
members or friends
 Full- or part-time
professional
 Where will your loved
one live?
 At home, independently
 With you or another
family member or friend
 Assisted-living facility

9. Step 1: Create and Implement a
Personal Care Plan
What care is needed?
 Household chores and
other daily tasks
 Washing and dressing
 Meal preparation
 Transportation
 Medical
 Safety/emergency plan

10. Step 2: Create a Transition Plan
 Continuity of care and
supervision
 Choosing alternates to
replace those in original
plan if needed
 Anticipate and prepare for
future life events of ALL
the interested parties
Answer “what if” questions
 What if you die
unexpectedly?
 What if your loved one
becomes
unable to make his/her
own medical/financial
decisions?

11. Step 3: Create and Execute a Legal
Plan
Ensure that legal
precautions are in place:
 Medical directives
 Durable powers of
attorney
 Your last will and
testament
 Letter of instruction (not
legally binding) to point
others to your documents
Hire an attorney
An experienced estate
planning or special needs
planning attorney will help
coordinate your will with
other financial plans that
have been made or will be
made

12. Step 4: Create and Implement a
Financial Plan
 Estimate the monthly cost
to care for your loved one
 Project the cost over
your loved one’s
expected lifespan
 Factor in inflation

13. Step 4: Create and Implement a
Financial Plan
 Insurance
 Health, disability, and long-term
care insurance that cover your
loved one
 Life insurance. Are the right
people insured?
 Are the beneficiary designations
up to date with needs?
 Your legacy
 Last will and testament
 Accounts that may pass by
beneficiary designation, TOD,
POD

14. Need to Preserve Government
Benefits
 Some government
benefits are need-based
and some are not
 You may need legally
separated assets in order
to maintain entitlement to
public benefits

15. Sources of Government Benefits
 National organizations
 Community aid
 State aid
 Federal aid
The Arc.org,
Autismspeaks.org,
Disability.gov
Easter Seals.com,
HSCfoundation.org,
Parentcenterhub.org
SSA.Gov

16. Federal Benefits: Not Based on
Financial Need
 Medicare, age 65
 Social Security
Disability Income
(SSDI)
 Government Programs
 Special education

17. Federal Benefits: Need-based
 Medicaid
 Joint federal and state program that helps
with medical costs for people with low
incomes and limited resources
 Supplemental Social Security Income (SSI)
 Provides monthly income to people age 65
or older, or who are blind or disabled, and
who have limited income and financial
resources

18. Special Planning Techniques
 Certain techniques are
permitted by federal and
state law to maximize
available resources
 Government benefits are
available to all families
regardless of their means
 Families can use their
personal resources to
provide for non-basic
needs
 Family’s personal resources
serve as a secondary
source of support

19. Special or Supplemental Needs Trust
 Special needs trust also
called supplemental
needs trust (SNT)
 SNTs given “official” legal
status in 1993
 Assets in a properly
drafted and administered
SNT will not be counted
as available assets
 When properly drafted
Trust disbursements will
not be counted as income

20. Types of SNTs
 Self-settled or first-
party SNT
 Pooled SNT
 Third-party SNT

21. Self-Settled or First-Party SNT
 Created for sole benefit of
disabled individual under
age 65
 Created by parent,
grandparent, guardian, or
by the court
 Cannot be created by the
disabled individual
 CAN be funded by the
disabled individual.

22. Self-Settled or First-Party SNT
 Avoids Medicaid and SSI “look-back” provisions for
eligibility purposes.
 Assets in trust will not be countable as resources for
eligibility purposes
 Upon the disabled individual's death, any money or
assets remaining in this trust must be used to
reimburse the government for Medicaid benefits
extended to the individual during his/her lifetime

23. Pooled SNT
 Managed by a nonprofit organization
 Funds are pooled for investment purposes
 Subaccounts maintained for each disabled
beneficiary
 Can be created by the disabled individual for
himself/herself
 Pay back to Medicaid or help others in the pool,
depending on state law.

24.  Created by disabled person's parent or other
third party
 No payback requirement
 Creator of trust must not have a duty to support
the disabled person
 Disabled person can be any age
 May or may not trigger Medicaid or SSI penalty
period
Third-Party SNT

25. ABLE Accounts
 Tax-advantaged savings
vehicles 529A account.
 Account funds generally do
not count toward the asset
limit for Medicaid and SSI
 Available to individuals
whose disability began
before age 26
 Can’t be opened until
regulations are final

26. Conclusion
If you have, or might have,
a loved one who is
disabled or has special
needs:
 Are you concerned about
their future personal
needs and financial
security?
 Are you concerned about
meeting their needs could
strain your ability to meet
your own?
I welcome the opportunity to
meet individually with each
of you to address any
specific concerns or
questions that you may
have.
Thoughtful planning can help
you avoid the pitfalls of not
having a plan, and improve
your overall experience as a
Family of a Special Needs
Person.

27. Disclaimer
 Nancy L Roach, CFP ® is licensed to offer securities, annuities
and insurance products through Sigma Financial Corporation.
Sigma Financial is a member of FINRA, and SIPC. Upstream
Investment Partners is independent of Sigma Financial
Corporation. Financial Planning Services offered through
Sigma Planning Corporation. Financial products not FDIC
insured not guaranteed and may lose value.