Military Estate Planning For Special Needs Webinar Offered July 6

Once registered, participants will receive an email with instructions and the link to the event. Those who cannot use the link may view the event live on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/c/OneOp/live.

OneOp webinars are for professional service providers who work with military families. OneOp, formerly the Military Families Learning Network, is a virtual professional development platform for providers who serve military families.

The webinar provides one continuing education credit for many professional programs. Visit the OneOp website for a complete list. Certificates of attendance are available for providers interested in documenting their training activities.

Importance of estate planning

“Estate planning may be one of the most important and overlooked aspects of caregiving,” said Rachel Brauner, AgriLife Extension military program specialist, Bryan-College Station.

She said when a proper estate plan is not in place, individuals and families may face a variety of issues affecting finance, housing, benefits and services, among others.

“This webinar, designed for service providers and caregivers alike, highlights the importance of estate planning and focuses on plans that involve individuals with special needs,” Brauner said.

Webinar topics, speaker

The webinar is an interactive session to examine government programs designed for individuals with special needs, basic estate planning documents, first- and third-party special-needs trusts, general considerations for selecting fiduciaries, and other related topics.

The featured speaker is Alison Packard, J.D., The Packard Law Firm, San Antonio. Packard is a special- needs planning attorney with a practice that focuses on estate planning, including special-needs trusts, guardianship, alternatives to guardianship, general probate work and government benefits eligibility.

As the parent of a special needs child, Packard understands parents’ worry as they plan for the future of children who will always need resources, support and services.

Webinar objectives

The learning objectives for participants are:

• Develop a greater appreciation for the benefits of estate planning and the critical need for such plans in families with special needs.
• Define the role that special-needs trusts and an Achieving a Better Life Experience, ABLE, accounts play in a special-needs estate plan.
• Identify tips for selecting an appropriate trustee, transferring assets to the trust, spending funds from the trust and dealing with common trust administration issues.
• Review strategies to protect eligibility for needs-based government benefits, while providing supplemental funds to enhance the quality of life for an individual with special needs.

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