About All Needs Planning — Special Needs Financial Advisors

We didn’t come to this work through a textbook. We came to it as parents.

All Needs Planning was built by parents of children with special needs who are also credentialed financial and planning professionals. That combination — lived experience and deep technical knowledge — is what makes our approach different.

This Is All We Do.

All Needs Planning is a special needs financial planning firm built entirely around the complexity your family faces — not a general practice that added a specialty. Every family we work with is navigating something most financial professionals have never had to consider. Benefits cliffs. Special Needs Trusts. ABLE accounts. Government programs that change. Long-term care decisions that can’t be undone. A future that looks very different from a standard retirement plan.

We’ve navigated all of it personally. And professionally. We founded All Needs Planning because when we looked for the kind of help our own families needed — coordinated, knowledgeable, and genuinely personal — we couldn’t find it. So we built it.

We serve families nationwide. And this is all we do.

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The People Behind Your Plan.

Kristin Carleton

CEO & Chief Investment Strategist

My journey into special needs planning started at 19 weeks pregnant, when an ultrasound revealed that my son Eli had a rare brain disorder. I was already a financial planner. And in the fear that followed, I did what I knew how to do: I started planning. I bought life insurance, called early intervention, and joined a Facebook group for his diagnosis. What I found was a community and a gap. The financial support that families like mine needed didn’t exist in any coordinated form. That’s what All Needs Planning was built to fill.

I’ve spent more than 20 years in financial services — leading planning and investment teams at James River Wealth Advisors, working in investor relations at Universal Investments, and handling business development at WisdomTree Investments. Today, as CEO and Chief Investment Strategist, my role is making sure the investment strategy we build for each family is disciplined, purposeful, and designed to fund everything that matters most.

I also serve on the boards of GRASP and the Commonwealth Savers Board as a Senate-appointed member, where my focus is expanding post-secondary opportunities for people with disabilities.

Series 65 · Life and Health Insurance License · Virginia Leadership in Neurodevelopmental Disabilities Certificate Program · Partners in Policymaking through Virginia Board for People with Disabilities

Mary McDirmid, ChSNC®, ChFC®

Chief Financial Planning & Growth Officer

During a routine pregnancy ultrasound, they found tumors on my daughter Ruth’s heart. I couldn’t hear anything after that. I just waited for the doctor to stop talking so I could leave. Ruth spent 10 days in the NICU, had feeding issues, colic, and began having seizures at four months.

I was a mom, a wife, a new employee, and I was scared. So I did what I always do: I reached out. I asked for help. I got involved. And I started learning everything I could so I wouldn’t have to keep relearning in crisis.

Before co-founding All Needs Planning, I spent two years as managing director at MassMutual Northwest and ran my own special needs financial planning practice. My job is to sit with a family, look at everything they have in place, and tell them honestly what’s working, what’s missing, and what to do next.

Chartered Special Needs Consultant (ChSNC®) · Chartered Financial Consultant (ChFC®)

Dr. Kathy Matthews

Chief Family Strategist & Advocate

I spent nearly 20 years in the disability field — as a teacher’s assistant, a special education teacher, a behavior analyst, and a school director before my son Ethan arrived. And then I started seeing signs I had seen before. By the time he was eight months old, I knew: he had autism.

It was a strange dual role. By day, I was a professional serving families like mine. By night, I was a mom trying to hold it together. When I met Kristin, something shifted. She wasn’t just talking about the system — she was talking about building something better. That’s why I’m here.

I hold a master’s degree and PhD from Columbia University. I’ve served as Executive Director of the Faison Center for Autism and currently teach behavior analysis at the University of Virginia. My role at All Needs Planning® is making sure the care side of the plan is as solid as the financial side.

Licensed and Certified Behavior Analyst · Certified Special Education Teacher · Work Incentive Planner (WIP-Cri)

Charlene Nelson

Operations & Onboarding Specialist

I’m based in the Seattle area and have spent more than a decade in wealth management — first as a Client Experience Manager, then as a Client Service Manager leading a team of nine.

I’ve spent my career focused on the systems and processes that make a client relationship actually work. At All Needs Planning, my job is to make sure that from the moment a family reaches out, the experience is clear, organized, and personal.

The planning our team does is complex. Working with us shouldn’t feel that way.

Series 65 · Licensed to sell insurance in Washington State

Qualified In The Ways That Matter For Your Family.

Our team holds credentials including Chartered Special Needs Consultant (ChSNC®), Chartered Financial Consultant (ChFC®), Doctorate in Human Behavior, Licensed and Certified Behavior Analyst, Work Incentive Planner, and Series 65 licensure — alongside decades of combined experience in financial planning, benefits coordination, and special needs advocacy.

Investment Advisory Services are offered through Sound Income Strategies, LLC, an SEC investment advisory firm (SEC #173272). This structure allows us to provide full wealth management services — not just planning conversations — while remaining specialists in the special needs space. All Needs Planning® and Sound Income Strategies, LLC are separate entities.

Listen To Our Team.

Our team regularly appears on podcasts and media covering special needs planning, wealth management, and family advocacy.

Full-Tilt Parenting Podcast

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Questions Families Ask Before Reaching Out.

Who do you work with?

Families who have a loved one with special needs — children and adults, at every stage of life, across a wide range of diagnoses. We work with families who are just starting to figure this out and families who have existing plans but aren’t sure everything is coordinated.

Do you work with families outside of Virginia and Washington state?

Yes. We serve families in all 50 states. Our offices are in Richmond, VA and Spokane, WA, and we work with families everywhere through virtual meetings and phone. Wherever you are, special needs wealth management guidance is accessible.

What makes special needs financial planning different from regular financial planning?

Standard financial planning focuses on growing assets and preparing for retirement. Special needs planning layers in benefits coordination, legal structure, long-term care, and government programs — SSI, Medicaid, ABLE accounts — while making sure financial decisions don’t accidentally disqualify a loved one from essential support. The difference between a plan that holds and one that creates unintended problems usually comes down to whether those pieces are managed together or in isolation.

We already have a Special Needs Trust — do we still need a financial planner?

Possibly, yes. A trust that isn’t coordinated with investment accounts, the ABLE account, and the overall financial plan may not function the way families expect. Many families come to us with existing documents and realize for the first time how the pieces connect — or don’t. A first conversation can clarify whether everything is working together.

How does Social Security factor into the plan?

SSI and SSDI are often central to a special needs financial plan. SSI has a $2,000 resource limit — how assets are titled and where savings are held directly affects eligibility. Families may also be eligible for the Disabled Adult Child (DAC) benefit based on a parent’s earnings record. We help families understand all of it and structure their finances accordingly.

How do I start special needs financial planning?

We recommend starting with one of our free workshops, which give you an orientation to the full planning picture without any commitment. If a more personalized conversation makes sense, a 15-minute introductory call is a low-pressure way to find out whether we’re the right fit.

What should we expect on a first call?

A short, informal conversation — typically 15 minutes. We’ll ask about the family’s situation, what’s in place, and what’s on their mind. The goal is simply to understand whether working together makes sense. Nothing to prepare. Just come as you are.

What is the All Needs Planning Learning Lab?

The Learning Lab is our ongoing membership community for education, resources, and direct access to our team. For families who want to stay current on benefits changes, planning strategies, and care decisions as their situation evolves.

“Thank you for your patience, time, knowledge, great communication skills. I’ve been digging into it myself for a while and always seem to end up feeling stuck and confused. You definitely helped me cut through that today.”

— Michael H.

“Your knowledge and experience have given us confidence that we are doing everything we can to make our plans work for everyone in our family.”

— Dan M.

Testimonials are from current clients, unsolicited, with no compensation provided. Investment Advisory Services offered through Sound Income Strategies, LLC, SEC investment advisory Firm (#173272). All Needs Planning® and Sound Income Strategies, LLC are not associated entities.