Welcome to the Special Needs Master Class! We are so happy to have you here.
Special Needs Planning involves creating a comprehensive strategy to protect and support your loved one with a disability for their lifetime. Our Master Class provides you with a step-by-step process consisting of information and actionable steps allowing you to create your special needs master plan as you move through the class.
Our step-by-step process comprises 5 courses, which culminate in your Special Needs Master Plan:
Course 1) Building the Foundation of Your Special Needs Master Plan-Who are you planning for?
Course 2) Developing and Implementing a Funding Strategy-Where will the resources your loved one needs come from?
Course 3) Understanding and Identifying Available Legal Protections and Documents-How will your loved one be protected when you are no longer here?
Course 4) Creating a Comprehensive Care Plan-How will others know what your loved one needs and how to best support them?
Course 5) Executing and Monitoring Your Special Needs Master Plan-How will your plan stay up to date and meet modern legal, financial, tax, and regulatory requirements?
Here is more detail on what you can expect in the Special Needs Master Classes:
Course 1: Building Your Plan’s Foundation-Who are you planning for?
This course provides you with an overview of the special needs planning process starting with understanding who you are planning for. This includes understanding the cost of care of your loved one, identifying the funding strategy you can build to meet the costs of their care, understanding the various legal protections that you can consider to protect your loved one as well as any assets you may leave for them in the future, how to build and develop a Care Plan for your loved one that will provide detailed instructions on their support needs, and finally how to pull all of this information together into an executable special needs master plan you can share with others. This course also previews Courses 2, 3, and 4.
Course 2: Developing and Implementing a Funding Strategy-Where will the resources your loved one needs come from?
This course shows you how to calculate the cost of care of your loved one and how to review your current funding streams as well as your eligibility for other funding sources to meet their care costs. This includes understanding public benefits like social security, funding from state waiver and developmental services programs, ABLE accounts, and strategic planning that addresses your loved one’s needs without taking away from your retirement or the needs of others counting on you. This understanding leads you to develop an overall funding strategy.
Course 3: Reviewing and Identifying Available Legal Protections and Documents-How will your loved one be protected when you are no longer here?
The legal strategy portion of the plan is where you discover what legal documents your loved one may need to protect and support their decision making. Every state offers several options in this area and this course provides an overview of those and how they might address your loved one’s needs. This course also provides information on how to protect assets which may be needed to support your loved one in the future and how to put them in use on your loved one’s behalf without jeopardizing their access to public benefits. We also share information on tools such as Microboards which can be established to provide ongoing support and advocacy for your loved one. This understanding leads you to develop your overall legal strategy.
Course 4: Creating a Comprehensive Care Plan-How will others know what your loved one needs and how to best support them?
Your Care Plan comprehensively details the supports and professional services your loved one is receiving. This includes morning and evening routines, how medications are given, what activities your loved one prefers, and a host of other details that are critical to ensuring that every day your loved one is receiving the care and support they deserve and need. Your Care Plan will contain these day-to-day details as well as contact information for their current service providers, doctors, pharmacy, and any other providers who play an important role. This understanding leads you to develop your overall support strategy.
Course 5: Implementing and Monitoring Your Special Needs Master Plan-How will your plan stay up to date and meet modern legal, financial, tax and regulatory requirements?
This course shows you how to pull all of the funding, legal, and support strategies into place in a living document that you can share with others to aid them in supporting your loved one when you are no longer here to do so. We also show you how to set up a monitoring structure to make sure the information in the plan remains accurate. We also review how to check your planning against any changes to laws and regulations that may potentially impact your loved one.
Let’s get started!
The Special Needs Master Class was developed out of a need for a simple, yet holistic process that supports every member of the family. Kristin Carleton, the founder of Special Abilities Network and vision behind the Special Needs Master Class, discovered at her 9th week of pregnancy that her son was going to be born with a congenital brain defect and uncertain future. As a financial planner by training, Kristin sought out to do what she does best, plan for his future. Unfortunately, she quickly discovered that supports for individuals with disabilities are not usually coordinated and, most troubling, the parent is expected to be the expert and drive the process. Kristin knew there had to be a better way and with that devoted her life's work to special needs planning. Kristin formed a team with Dr. Kathy Matthews as Chief Clinical Officer and Mary McDirmid as Chief Operating Officer to build the Special Needs Master Class comprising of a 3-Step process to ensure the funding, legal, and support needs of every person with a disability and their family are met now and into the future.
