Special Needs Planning
10 Biggest Mistakes Parents Make When Planning for a Child With Special Needs
Special Needs Planning Timeline
While choosing a financial advisor is an important decision, choosing an advisor with experience in special needs planning can be even more crucial. What sets us apart?
I walk the walk. I am the parent of a young adult, a light in my life, who has special challenges. My first child was diagnosed with hydrocephalus as a newborn and brain cancer at age 3. She is now 36, and the hurdles she has crossed have been countless. If you have a child with special needs, you will understand this means when you share your personal circumstances with me, I will “get it”… the medical, educational, social, etc. journeys.
My 20 years of experience as a Financial Advisor focused on special needs planning enable me to offer my SNP clients in-depth knowledge, compassion, and proficiency. I recognize that each family's circumstances are unique, and I have planned for families covering a broad range of disabilities. I am known to say, “I learn so much from families.”
Through extensive education and training, I have remained abreast of the shifting needs and landscape of the community of those with special challenges. I am a sought-after speaker and have had the privilege of presenting to over 75 groups throughout the state of CT.
My 27+ years as a Financial Advisor allow me to also offer my SNP clients comprehensive financial services, including, but not limited to, retirement, estate, and education planning; as well as life, health, long-term care, and disability insurance.
This is my passion and goal: to assist families with a loved one with special needs to navigate the atypical and complicated issues so often met by similar families. My clients rely on my guidance regarding the legal and financial issues that may impact their loved one's future.
I volunteer as the Board Chair of PLAN of CT, the Planned Lifetime Assistance Network, a non-profit organization that acts as a trustee for Special Needs Trusts. My time spent at many years of meetings has taken my Special Needs Planning knowledge to a level that would have been unachievable through my regular practice. It has helped me to have a far clearer and more precise idea of how to plan for very diverse circumstances.
Written by Stuart Hawkins