Creating Financial Confidence for Families with Special Needs

Welcome back, our GiGi’s community!

We’re thrilled to share the valuable insights provided by Michael Ringel, which focuses on finance. Michael is a Chartered Special Needs Consultant with Special Needs Wealth Planning, LLC. Their purpose and mission is to help families plan for two lifetimes — the parents’ and the child with special needs — by ensuring lifelong care, independence, and financial stability while protecting retirement and legacy.

Challenges Families Face:

• Overwhelmed by programs, benefits, and legal tools

• Fear of child’s future care after parents are gone

• Balancing retirement with lifetime care needs

• Risk of disqualifying child from benefits

• Emotional stress of planning for two lifetimes

Why Planning Matters:

Planning enhances quality of life, preserves government benefits, and provides families with confidence, protection, and peace of mind.

Key Planning Areas:

• Financial Planning: protection, savings, investments, ABLE accounts

• Legal Tools: Special Needs Trusts, Pooled Trusts, Guardianship

• Government Benefits: SSI, Medicaid, SSDI, Medicare, Section 8

• Care Coordination: Letter of Intent, communication, team approach

6 Steps to Financial Freedom:

i Get organized

ii Protection planning (income, disability, life insurance, long-term care)

iii Create a Special Needs Trust (review beneficiaries, share information)

iv Develop investment philosophy

v Optimize cash flow

vi Plan for retirement and income distribution

Estate Planning Outcomes:

Proper planning ensures the child benefits from government programs, Special Needs Trusts, and supplemental benefits. Improper planning risks loss of benefits, family disputes, and lost assets.

Be sure to check out our programs calendar on our website to register for the next Family Speaker: Parent University Program night. This program is every fourth Wednesday of every month from 7:00- 8:30pm. It is held both virtually, as well as in- person at the Tampa Playhouse. https://gigisplayhouse.org/tampa/sfcalendar/