2023 Academy of Special Needs Planners Annual Meeting
Revolutionary Planning: Beyond the Docs
April 20 - 22, 2023 | Boston, MA
17th Annual Meeting of the Academy of Special Needs Planners
Revolutionary Planning: Beyond the Docs
The Academy of Special Needs Planners has been presenting its Annual Meeting for 17 consecutive years.
We are thrilled to be in person April 20-22, 2023 at the Revere Hotel Boston Common.
Why should you attend?
We have a tradition of providing a dynamic platform to thought leaders from key disciplines to share their perspective to strengthen the greater special needs community.
And who wants another Zoom meeting?
- Learn new strategies.
You’ll learn new strategies and methods to improve the level of service you provide to your clients.
- Network with peers.
You’ll network with colleagues and nationally recognized thought leaders.
- Get valuable support.
You’ll get foundational information and support from seasoned veterans and nationally recognized experts.
2023 Keynote speaker
Craig Reaves, CELA
We’re Not in Kansas Anymore – Inherited IRAs After the SECURE Act & Proposed Regulations
- Up-level your client strategy.
- You want to learn new strategies and methods to improve the level of service you provide to your clients.
- You want to Network with colleagues and nationally recognized thought leaders.
- You want to get foundational information and support from seasoned veterans and nationally recognized experts.
- Network with colleagues.
A deeper understanding of the planning principles and strategies that will enhance the services you provide your special needs clients: SNTs, Savings Plans, Public Benefits, Funding and Tax Strategies.
- Get valuable support.
Participate in virtual discussions with colleagues from around the country as well as nationally recognized leaders in special needs planning via desktop and mobile.
- Learn new strategies.
You’ll learn new strategies and methods to improve the level of service you provide to your clients.
- Network with peers.
You’ll network with colleagues and nationally recognized thought leaders.
- Get valuable support.
You’ll get foundational information and support from seasoned veterans and nationally recognized experts.
Highlights
Keynote Speaker
Social Security Administration 2023 Update with David Lillesand
TRENDING: Decision-Making Alternatives for Persons with Disabilities
April 20-22, 2023 in Boston
See the agenda and learn about this year’s speakers.
Pre-Session Programs
Understanding public benefits for persons with disabilities is critical to understanding how to prepare and administer a special needs plan. This program will discuss the fundamentals of Supplemental Security Income (SSI), Childhood Disabled Beneficiary (CDB), Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI), Medicaid, and Medicare as they concern persons with disabilities. Without knowledge of what is (and is not) available through public benefits and the rules that govern them, there is no special needs planning for attorneys or financial advisors. Moreover, without knowing the effect a distribution has on public benefits, an SNT trustee will not be able to properly administer special needs trusts.
This program provides the drafting attorney with excellent fundamental coverage of the provisions that are included in third-party special needs trust drafting. Yet, these provisions while excellent, do not cover some of the intermediate or advanced drafting challenges with which drafters will be confronted. The attendees and the presenter will use their collective brain power to discuss different solutions and methods for addressing challenging planning scenarios. This will be highly interactive so come ready to contribute.
The best-drafted special needs trust in the world does no good if the trustee (the person managing the trust) does not know what he or she is doing. A poorly performing trustee can cause loss of essential public benefits, loss of assets, and subject the trustee to personal liability. This seminar will discuss some of the top ways an SNT trustee can properly manage the trust to best enhance the quality of life of a person with a disability.
This seminar covers the different planning tools available to the professional when planning for assets owned by a person with a disability. This can happen in an emergency when the call comes in that the person is receiving assets and needs assistance immediately. While special needs trusts are a primary planning tool, the professional has other options. This can include ABLE accounts, spending down assets, purchasing exempt assets, or other transfers. The seminar will cover the basics of planning options, along with the strengths and weaknesses of each tool.
Attorneys talk about wills and trusts. Financial planners talk about money. Comprehensive planning incorporates both and brings the documents to life. The presentation will begin with an overview of the special needs planning process and focus on the importance of engaging family members throughout every stage of life on the special needs planning timeline. Cindy and Alex will discuss how to bring others, including non family members and professionals, into the planning process and share case examples from their practice.
As a trusted advisor to your clients, understanding the signs of financial exploitation and how best to approach these challenging topics is an integral part of managing your clients’ interests. Given your proximity to and rapport with your clients, you are well-positioned to notice signs of distress and if your client may not have the capacity to make financial decisions for themselves. Progressive advisors are seeking new techniques to facilitate sensitive conversations and support the holistic needs of their clients. This presentation will help advisors identify the warning signs of financial exploitation amongst vulnerable clients and what criteria they should use in determining how and when to intervene.
As the number of children diagnosed with autism, Asperger’s syndrome, and other neurological disorders continues to skyrocket (1 in 44 as of March 2022), CPAs, financial planners, and lawyers need to understand the deductions and credits available in assisting families in planning for their unique situation. Our session addresses those items that are deductible from adjusted gross income (AGI) to determine taxable income. Specifically, we’ll address some unique medical expense rules and their related financing for families caring for those with special needs. In addition, the session will review timing issues as well as unusual issues in planning for itemized deductions under recent legislation. Our session will enable participants to maximize their deductions on Schedule A for 2022 and alert attendees to changes occurring in 2023.
What are the important considerations when setting up, funding, and distributing first party and third party special needs trusts? Topics discussed will include: Pros and cons of different asset types, the role of life insurance, allocating between multiple children, balancing the planning needs of aging caregivers, effective trust distribution strategies, and more.
Government funding is more and more strained to provide for lifetime supports and housing options for individuals with disabilities. Learn about various housing options and how families/individuals can fund them using a combination of government benefits and personal resources.
Current trends, uses, and strategies in ABLE that every financial advisor needs to know. This is a workshop to talk beyond the basics of ABLE accounts and how to incorporate uses of ABLE for your clients and into your practice.
