Most of my professional career has been devoted to assisting families with the process of planning their estates, so that they can be prepared for the challenges of growing older and of providing well for their loved ones.  As my practice developed and my level of knowledge and understanding grew, I began to realize that I could utilize my talents for the greatest good by focusing my efforts on helping the types of people whom I felt needed my help the most:  couples and families that include an elder faced with the challenge of obtaining and paying for long-term care, and families that include a person with a disability.  My firm’s practice is focused on the specialized planning necessary to best serve those populations.

That mix of clients may seem odd.  On many levels, an Alzheimer’s victim has very little in common with an autistic child.  But from a legal standpoint, they have quite a bit in common.  Both have special and extraordinary needs, which are as different and individual as they are.  Each needs someone else to act as his or her voice toward assuring that those needs will be met.  Unless fortunate enough to be able to pay out-of-pocket or through insurance for health and care costs, each faces the prospect of having to deplete essentially all of the financial resources he or she owns in order to become eligible for Medicaid and other types of government assistance. 

Most importantly, in terms of my firm’s ability to provide real and meaningful help, each can benefit greatly from planning directed toward preserving assets to assure their availability to meet personal and family needs.  In the case of the Alzheimer’s victim, it is most often that person’s own assets that are being preserved.  In the case of the autistic child, it is assets set aside for his or her benefit, directly or through insurance, by parents (and sometimes grandparents and other relatives and friends) that are being preserved.  They have in common that the laws that govern eligibility for Medicaid and other government benefits apply in essentially the same way regardless of the applicant’s age or circumstances.  In fact, the rules that govern the various types of trusts that can be used in planning for elders and for persons of any age with disabilities are even set forth in subsections of the same federal statute.  

My interest in helping these families, and the direction in which I had chosen to take my professional practice, led me to join the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys (“NAELA”), an organization dedicate to assisting the elderly and persons with disabilities.  I am an active member of both the Missouri and Illinois chapters of that organization, and a past member of the Board of Directors of the Missouri chapter. 

I was also proud to become one of the few attorneys (there are only about 300 in the country) to earn the distinction of becoming a certified elder law attorney (“CELA”).  That designation was conferred upon me by the National Elder Law Foundation, the only organization recognized by the American Bar Association as having authority to recognize specialization in this practice area (neither the supreme court nor the bar of Missouri or Illinois reviews or approves certifying organizations or specialist designations).

Within the legal community and in my own practice, a growing realization developed that, while persons with disabilities have much in common with the elderly in terms of laws and planning, there is a definite need to recognize their special needs and challenges and the role that caring attorneys can play in helping to address them.  There is also a great need to educate persons with disabilities and those within the “special needs community” of laws that apply to them, the importance and benefits of wise planning, and – just as importantly – the presence and qualifications of the attorneys able and available to assist them with planning.

That’s why, when the Academy of Special Needs Planners (“ASNP”) was formed on July 1, 2006, I was eager and proud to become a charter member.  The ASNP has proved to be a tremendous source of information and support to its member attorneys, and also to our clients and anyone within the special needs community in search of good information.  This newsletter is generated by ASNP, with the great feature that we are able to add, or substitute in, articles, notices and information that we believe will be of particular interest to those who are on our newsletter distribution list.  I invite you to visit ASNP’s web site, www.specialneedsplanners.com, to learn more about them.